Whether you need more power for search engine optimization software, or you‘re building a tool of your own, SEO proxies can help. They‘ll let you scrape search engines, audit websites, and get keyword data without interruptions. But Google can be relentless, and it‘s not easy to find a reliable SEO proxy service. That‘s why we made this list of providers we‘ve tried and trusted over the years. Take a look.
Contents
The Best SEO Proxies of 2024 – Quick Summary:
- Smartproxy – strong performance & best priced SEO proxies.
- SOAX – flexible targeting and rotation options.
- Infatica – residential proxies for larger SEO businesses.
- Rayobyte – competent service best for long-term use.
- NetNut – rotating proxies for high-volume web scraping.
What are SEO Proxies?
Proxies are remote computers that let you route your traffic through them, using their IP address instead of your own. This allows you to appear from a different location, evade blocks, and access more data.
SEO proxies refer to residential IP addresses that are suitable for search engine optimization tasks. Compared to datacenter IPs, residential ones behave more like real users, making them harder to detect. This helps you gather local SEO data, scrape search engines heavily, or use tools that would otherwise get blocked.
Some common uses of SEO proxies include:
- Keyword research & rank tracking
- Accessing geo-restricted search engine data
- Running SEO crawlers and auditing tools
- Web scraping and content extraction
- Link building outreach at scale
- Manipulating Google search results (black hat SEO)
The proxy serves as an intermediary, fetching the data on your behalf while keeping your own IP address hidden. This opens up possibilities that would be difficult or impossible with your own IPs due to blocks, captchas, and rate limits.
Choosing the Right Proxy Type
There are a few main proxy types to choose from:
Datacenter proxies are based out of, you guessed it, datacenters. They are static IP addresses you can dedicate for your own use. The downside is there is no IP rotation and a finite pool, making them easier to detect. However, dedicated datacenter proxies can be extremely affordable, costing as little as $1-2 per IP.
Residential proxies are IP addresses used by real households and mobile devices. They inherently appear more human-like when browsing. Residential proxies usually come from a large, rotating pool you have access to. This makes them more challenging to block. However, you pay for traffic usage rather than per IP, which can get costly.
ISP proxies are residential IPs that originate from one specific ISP network. They have qualities of datacenter and residential proxies. Although more expensive than datacenters, ISP proxies are cheaper and easier to manage than fully residential ones.
For most SEO tools and agencies, residential proxies tend to be the best fit. The human-like IPs allow you to fly under the radar when targeting search engines or protected sites. Their rotating nature also simplifies proxy management.
6 Tips for Choosing the Best SEO Proxy Provider
Keep these aspects in mind when comparing residential proxy services:
-
Large proxy pool – More IPs means each one is used less often, keeping the pool “cleaner” and more anonymous. Look for pools in the millions or more.
-
Locations – Choose a service with IPs covering the regions you need to target. Local SEO requires location specificity.
-
Targeting control – The more granular (city-level, ASN, etc.) the better. Flexible targeting helps optimize proxies.
-
Rotation settings – Faster rotation intervals (every request, 1 min, etc.) improve anonymity but reduce IP stickiness.
-
Performance – Speed and uptime vary hugely between providers. Check recent third-party tests.
-
Reliable support – Crucial for a business-critical service. Prioritize 24/7 live chat.
Reviews of the Best SEO Proxy Services
Based on our extensive testing and experience, here are the top five providers we recommend for SEO agencies and tools right now:
1. Smartproxy
Strong performance & best priced SEO proxies
Smartproxy is a great choice for small to medium SEO businesses. The residential proxy pool is high-quality, rotating, and deliver some of the fastest speeds in the market.
You can target locations extremely precisely, down to the city level. Automatic rotation settings range from per request up to 30 minutes of IP stickiness. Smartproxy also offers excellent and responsive customer support via live chat or email.
The main limitations are the traffic-based plans and caps on Google scraping volume. But overall, Smartproxy offers an unbeatable mix of features, performance, and affordable pricing.
- 40M+ residential IPs
- 195 location options
- Rotation: 1 min to 30 mins
- 24/7 live chat support
- Click for Smartproxy Review
2. SOAX
Flexible targeting and rotation options
SOAX delivers one of the most customizable residential proxy services for SEO. You can target precise locations across 150+ countries, including cities and ASNs.
The proxy pool is sufficiently large, and automatic rotation highly configurable from 90 sec to 10 minutes. Support works 24/7, and the dashboard provides just enough usage stats.
The limitations are a steep monthly minimum fee and traffic-based plans. But if you need flexibility for local SEO, SOAX is tough to beat.
- 5M+ monthly residential IPs
- City & ASN targeting
- Custom rotation intervals
- 24/7 live chat & support
- Click for SOAX Review
3. Infatica
Residential proxies for larger SEO businesses
Infatica operates one of the largest proxy pools in the industry. Targeting is quite flexible—you can mix multiple countries/cities and filter locations down to the ASN level.
According to our tests, Infatica‘s proxies are blazing fast in the US and Europe. The pricing is competitive for larger usage volumes. The network infrastructure and performance make Infatica suitable for heavy usage by enterprise SEO teams.
Just beware, some of Infatica‘s IPs come from datacenters instead of residences. This could lead to more issues accessing Google.
- 10M+ monthly residential IPs
- 150+ location targeting options
- Rotation intervals from 1 min to 1 hour
- 24/7 multichannel support
- Click for Infatica Review
4. Rayobyte
Reliable residential proxies
Rayobyte offers a competent residential proxy service that works well for SEO at scale. It uses a large proxy pool with coverage for 150+ locations worldwide.
The proxies themselves deliver decent performance and success rates. Rayobyte offers flexible targeting, with options to filter by city. Support is available 24/7, and the provider has helpful documentation.
The limitations are slower speeds compared to top services and less granular targeting. But for a mid-range option, Rayobyte delivers reliable performance.
- Large proxy pool (exact size undisclosed)
- 150+ locations worldwide
- City-level targeting
- 24/7 email & live chat support
- Click for Rayobyte Review
5. NetNut
Rotating proxies for heavy SEO web scraping
NetNut operates one of the largest proxy pools in the industry, with over 52 million residential IPs. It caters to high-volume use cases.
You can target locations down to the city level across most countries. NetNut scales affordably for heavy usage, with good pool distribution and performance.
The limitations are subpar average speeds, a clunkier UX, and residential IPs mixed with datacenters. But for large-scale web scraping and data extraction, NetNut delivers a capable solution.
- 52M+ residential proxy IPs
- 150+ country targeting
- City-level targeting
- Usage-based pricing that scales
- Click for NetNut Review
When To Consider a SERP API Instead
While proxies are crucial for many SEO tools, SERP APIs are an alternative for targeted search engine scraping.
SERP APIs let you make API requests to scrape data from Google, Bing, or Yandex. The API handles CAPTCHAs, proxies, and parsing automatically. You just input search parameters and receive structured data.
So SERP APIs can be simpler and cheaper compared to configuring a proxy solution just for search engine scraping. On the other hand, APIs can‘t be used for browser-based activities like running SEO tools or crawlers.
For convenience, or if search engines are your main target, a SERP API like Scrapy, ProxyCrawl, or ScrapeStack may be the better route. But for flexibility with various SEO tasks, proxies are still the way to go.
Final Thoughts
Configuring the right proxies takes SEO agencies and tools to the next level. With large pools of anonymous residential IPs, you can access geographic data, scrape aggressively, and integrate proxies across tools.
Smartproxy, SOAX, Infatica, Rayobyte, and NetNut stand out as reliable, high-performing residential proxy services suitable for SEO use cases. The best provider for your needs will depend on target locations, budget, team size, and volume requirements.
With great power also comes responsibility. Make sure to use proxies ethically, and don‘t overwhelmed providers‘ resources. Implementing IP rotation,Randomize targets and data volumes, and respect restrictions to keep your SEO efforts effective long-term.
