There are many China-exclusive web services that only users living in China can gain access to. Accessing such content can be beneficial for many businesses, e-Commerce in particular, as these brands need to learn different market trends globally and see how they are progressing in China.
For this reason, businesses have found their way of masking their actual IP address and accessing Chinese online services and content as local citizens. Many brands have now started using proxy servers, such as a China proxy.
In this post, we’ll briefly cover China proxies, along with discussing their top five use cases in the e-commerce industry.
What is a China Proxy Server
A China proxy is a server located in China that enables users to access the web via an IP address based in China. Some of the China proxies are anonymous, which makes it look like your device, software, or browser is accessing the internet from somewhere in China.
Proxy providers offer a secure and reliable connection and a vast IP pool to draw from. Users can quickly rotate to another one if an IP address gets blocked. In all, connecting to the web with fast China proxy servers enables users to access content that is regionally locked in China.
Types of China Proxies
Here are the three main types of China proxies:
- Residential Proxies – These proxy servers function as a middleman and utilize IP addresses provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) rather than IP addresses from a datacenter. Residential IPs come from physical devices, like computers, laptops, and mobiles, using a residential internet connection. Increased anonymity levels and low block-rate are some of the main benefits of residential proxies. Â
- Datacenter Proxies – These proxies act as a gateway between a device that is accessing the internet and the website being used. They assign clients the IP addresses that belong to datacenter proxy pools and third-party cloud service vendors. Datacenter proxies are of two types: shared and dedicated datacenter proxies. They are cost-friendly and faster than residential proxies.
- Mobile Proxies – A mobile proxy connects users to the web through an IP address linked to a mobile device. It uses virtual mobile data and IP addresses to conceal a user’s location and identity. These proxy servers are widely used for accessing the content in various geographic locations and guarding the actual IP address from getting detected.
Top 5 Use Cases of China Proxies in E-Commerce
China proxies have many use cases, making them beneficial for e-Commerce businesses. Below are the top five use cases of China proxies:
Market Research
Market research is the process of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data for the business. China proxies speed up the data collection and give access to information in China.
These proxies help businesses identify new customers, learn about existing customers and their pain points, define realistic goals, create effective strategies, deal with their challenges, and identify how to improve their services or products.
Ad Verification
Another main function of China proxies is advertisement verification. It helps eCommerce brands test their ads in multiple locations in China by letting them bypass IP blocking.
Additionally, these proxies help detect fraudulent marketing activities without revealing their identity. China proxies mask actual IPs and let users find irrelevant ads by staying anonymous. This helps them stop their competitor from harming their reputation.
Price Monitoring
Also called price intelligence, price monitoring is the practice of monitoring and analyzing prices to help shopping companies improve their pricing strategy. China proxies enable businesses to get an idea of their marketing positioning in China. Plus, with these proxies, companies can keep up with the ever-changing Chinese market, preserve margins, and increase profits.
Circumvention of Geo-restrictions
Chinese institutions, authorities, and ISPs limit access to certain websites and online services for people residing in other countries. A China proxy is the easiest solution to get around these limitations.
These proxies offer businesses access to geo-restricted content available only in China, which helps them improve their services and get users’ feedback based in China. They make it look like a user is in China while he/she actually lives in New York.
SEO Monitoring
Search engine optimization (SEO) monitoring is the process of monitoring a brand’s performance and search engines compared to its competitors. High ranking in search engine results brings natural traffic and new clients.
China proxies are commonly used for SEO monitoring. These proxies are best for web scraping as they scrape huge amounts of data, which is used for gaining insights and price monitoring. This, in turn, helps in SEO monitoring.
Wrapping Up
China proxies are now commonly used in e-Commerce industries for various purposes, including market research, ad verification, price monitoring, geo-restrictions bypass, and SEO monitoring. To gain such benefits, shopping companies should get in touch with a reliable proxy provider for an overall great experience.
