At first, glance, collecting the data necessary for your business seems simple – after all, your competitors appear to be handling it just fine. Much of the information you need is freely available online; it’s up to you simply to collect it. However, that’s where some problems may arise. While it seems as though most websites grant you unrestricted access to the information they contain, that’s rarely the case. First and foremost, all websites classify their data into different types, preventing random users from being able to collect sensitive data such as others’ credit card information. However, more than that, websites impose blocks and restrictions at every turn that prevent you from collecting relevant, yet still publicly available, data. To succeed, you’ll need to learn how you can bypass these restrictions, and the simplest way to do it is with the help of a web unblocker. Here’s what they are and how they can help you.
Why are some websites inaccessible to your business?
Virtually every website you visit, whether for personal or business purposes, will have some form of a block or restriction that will prevent you from accessing relevant information.
Most commonly, those restrictions will apply to specific geographic regions and stop (or alternatively, start) at national borders, hence why they’re referred to as geo-restrictions or geo-blocks.
Sites will rely on the users’ IP addresses to discern their location and impose or lift any restrictions they may have.
The reasons for these restrictions may vary. Popular streaming websites might impose restrictions because they need to follow different licensing laws in different countries. E-commerce websites could set restrictions because of the price and product availability differences across the world.
Whatever the case is, geo-restrictions could prevent your business from functioning effectively.
If you solely have access to curated data deemed “suitable” to you, you’ll quickly find yourself facing problems with your data accuracy. You won’t be able to collect and analyze relevant, timely data when you need it.
Whether you’re conducting customer, market, competitor, pricing, or any research, facing sophisticated anti-bot systems can be daunting. Even dedicated proxy servers might not bypass them. This is why you need a Web Unblocker.
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Solving restrictions with proxies and web unblockers
To overcome the issues with geo-restrictions, you need to make the websites you’re visiting think that you’re coming from a different location than you actually are. That’s where web unblockers come in handy.
Web unblockers use proxy servers to shield your actual IP address and provide you with a brand-new one from any location of your choosing.
When you’re just scraping the web without a web unblocker, for instance, every site you visit immediately reads your IP address and uncovers your rough physical location. While they might not always be able to see your exact address, they can identify you as a unique user coming from the US, let’s say.
With a web unblocker, proxy servers essentially intercept the connection between your device and the site you want to visit. Therefore, instead of your device interacting with the website directly, it interacts with the unblocker. Then, the unblocker interacts with the website, requesting information from it on your behalf, and sends you back the answer.
The website can only read the unblocker’s IP address, and thanks to proxy servers, the unblocker can have IP addresses from almost any corner of the world.
What’s more, most unblockers will give you access to an entire library of IP addresses, meaning that even if one of those proxy IP addresses gets blocked by the website, you can still use another to access it again.
Additional features that make unblockers stand out from proxy servers include ML-driven (Machine Learning) proxy management, dynamic browser fingerprinting, ML-powered response recognition, and auto-retry functionality.
All these features enable you to create a human-like browsing experience with your scraper bots that help you bypass IP restrictions and anti-bot technologies like frequent CAPTCHAs. All of this would have to be set up manually when using just a proxy server.
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What you can use web unblocker for
Though individuals could occasionally benefit from web unblockers, they were primarily designed for business use. With the help of unblockers, you can:
- Bypass geo-restrictions, IP bans, and CAPTCHAs;
- Overcome sophisticated anti-bot systems;
- Generate human-like browsing with bots;
- Streamline data collection processes;
- Ensure the utmost data accuracy.
These tools enable you to perform seamless competitor research, access accurate, relevant information with the utmost ease, and ensure that your web scraper can work without a hitch.
Conclusion on Web Unblocker
When a simple proxy server isn’t enough, a web unblocker can help you scrape data with ease. Powered by Machine Learning technology and equipped with features such as dynamic browser fingerprinting, web unblockers can help you ensure that all the relevant information about your audience, competitors, or the overall market is right at your fingertips.
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