VPN or Proxy for effective SEO
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and Proxies have seen a surge in demand since the dawn of Search Engine Optimization, as every business and individual fights incessantly for the top position in all the major search engines today.
Indeed, SEO is one of those tools without which a business cannot survive in the current digital environment. As such, it is no surprise to see that so many organizations are hunting for SEO specialists to boost their digital marketing efforts.
However, with so much competition, it has become quite difficult to carry out SEO using just one server. This is because effective SEO involves sending multiple queries and doing rigorous testing to see whether a particular keyword is worthwhile or not.
This and many other reasons make SEO difficult to carry out with your original ISP. As such, here you will find what you can do to enhance your SEO techniques and learn about the role of VPNs and proxies in SEO.
What is a VPN?
To begin with, a VPN, or virtual private network, is a tool that allows you to hide your IP through an encrypted connection.
As such, once you connect to a VPN, your entire internet activity is encrypted and cannot be seen even by your ISP. You are consequently assigned an IP address that is different from your original one.
This implies that with a VPN, you can appear completely anonymous and surf the web with complete privacy without being tracked down.
Additionally, a VPN lets you connect to a server in a completely different location and as such allow you to access the content of other countries altogether.
What is a proxy?
A proxy, on the other hand, is another server that reroutes your traffic so that you do not have to use your ISP’s server.
Essentially, a proxy acts as a middleman between your computer and your ISP. As such, your real IP is replaced with that of the proxy and therefore your true identity is hidden from the outside world.
Types of proxies: There are primarily three types of proxies; HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS. HTTP, as everyone may already be familiar with, is the usual protocol that is used by most websites. It is also a proxy that is widely available in the market002E
HTTPS and SOCKS are less common but provide greater security. Therefore, they can be a bit more expensive than the usual HTTP proxy.
Why use a proxy or VPN for SEO?
As mentioned earlier, SEO involves sending heavy amount of search queries to test the search ability of a keyword. These queries are sent to various search engines such as Google. Since SEO involves such a large amount of traffic, it is likely that when performing SEO on a single server – which is usually your ISP – it can result in a major slowdown as the server may not be able to cope up with such a high amount of traffic.
Therefore, using a VPN or a proxy allows you to use a different server or servers and thereby reduce the burden on your original server. Consequently, with a VPN or proxy, you can ensure greater speeds.
In addition, given that SEO involves sending a number of search queries, it is often the case that Google or other search engines block the IP address from which these queries are being generated. This is because the search engine considers too many search queries as spam. Therefore, using different IPs can prevent your single IP address getting blocked.
Furthermore, SEO is more effective when you know the results in various locations or countries. Using VPN for your SEO activities is an important seo strategy method which you can apply on your website.
As such, having a VPN or proxy that can connect you to an overseas server, lets you see the search results for keywords in countries apart from your own.
VPN vs Proxy
Now that we know what VPN and proxies are and why is it necessary to use them for SEO, it is time to see as to which is a better option; a VPN or a Proxy server. Straight off the bat, a VPN is much more effective due to a variety of reasons as listed below.
- Switching Speed
As mentioned earlier, while carrying out SEO, it is likely that your IP address gets blocked due to sending too many search queries. In such a situation, the only option is to switch to a different IP address. With a proxy, although it is possible to switch, it is however a very slow process when compared to a VPN. With a VPN, you can instantly disconnect from one server and connect to another in a jiffy. This is not the case with a Proxy as it requires more time to find a different server to connect to.
- Security
Although SOCKS and HTTPS proxies are secure and provide a good level of privacy, they are however hard to get and can be costly. Moreover, proxies are usually limited to providing privacy only when sharing files. This means SEO search queries may not be anonymized as effectively as when using a VPN. A VPN provides better security since it encrypts your connection and completely makes you anonymous on the web.
- The Price
Whether it is a proxy or a VPN, quality will cost you extra. As such, the price of a VPN or a secure proxy may not have so much of a difference.
However, given the advantages of VPN over a proxy, VPNs provide better value for money.
Concluding Remarks
In the end, it all depends on your specific requirements. If you think you can afford the extra time lost when using a proxy, then a proxy server is the way to go. However, if you are running a large website that requires heavy SEO activity, a VPN is a more viable option.
