Introduction to Bing
Bing, launched in 2009 is a search engine owned by Microsoft. The search engine is featured as the default search engine for many devices including iOS devices and Microsoft. Apart from regular text searches, Bing users can also search for videos, images, maps, items to shop and more.
This search engine is free to use and available in over 40 languages. Although most people use the browser platform, many others are downloading the app on their phones. Many people are gravitating towards Bing because they get rewards. In addition, the search engine is quite easy to navigate.
Bing has several exciting features including:
- Bing Ads, which supports pay-per-click advertising
- Bing Finance
- Bing Dictionary
- Bing Translator
- Bing Events
- Bing Social
- Bing Weather, and more.
In addition, this search engine provides webmaster tools to guide website owners on how to rank their content on Bing SERPs. Subsequently, Bing has become a rich source of data that digital marketers can use to optimize their strategies.
Gathering data can involve a simple “Ctrl c and Ctrl v” action. However, this is not suitable when you need to consistently gather a large amount of data. Subsequently, the best way to gather Bing data is to use a scraper.
The use of a scraper (aka bots) is not allowed by many websites, including Bing. Therefore, Bing will block your IP address if it detects scraping traffic from your device. You can bypass this challenge by using a Bing Proxy.
This guide will examine how to use proxies with Bing on Windows, macOS, and mobile devices.
How to Use Bing Proxies
Proxies act as an intermediary between your device and the website you are visiting. Therefore, the website will only see the proxy IP and not your actual IP address. This method is a way to mask your online identity.
You can use Bing proxies if you are wary of cyber threats. Alternatively, businesses may need to use Bing proxies to perform web scraping, manage multiple accounts, monitor market sentiment across various locations, and more. Subsequently, this section will examine how to use proxies with Bing on Windows, macOS, and Mobile devices.
Here is a simple guide on how to configure proxies on Bing
For Windows
Step 1: The first step is to search for Proxy Settings in your search bar and open the search result.
Step 2: You have two options- Automatic proxy setup or Manual proxy setup. The first option is suitable when you want Windows to automatically detect your proxy settings. It is quite simple and requires only 4 steps:
- Turn on Automatically detect settings.
- Turn on Use setup script.
- Enter the script address.
- Click save.
Step 3: Alternatively, you can select the second option- Manual proxy setup if you want to introduce a specific proxy details. You can do the manual set up with the following steps:
- Turn on Use a proxy server.
- Enter proxy server address and port number.
- Enter any website address that you want to visit without using the proxy IP. Then turn on, Don’t use the proxy server for local addresses check box.
- Click Save to store the changes you made.
Configuring Bing Proxies on Mac
Step 1: On your Macbook, click on the Apple Icon; from the drop-down menu, select System Preferences.
Step 2: From the displayed options, select Network
Step 3: Click on Advanced on the bottom of the screen. However, ensure you connect to your Wi-Fi first.
Step 4: Click on Proxies, then:
- Select a proxy protocol to configure.
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- Input Proxy server address and port number.
- Toggle on Proxy server requires password.
- Enter your proxy Username and password.
How to Use Mobile Proxies with Bing
Setting up a proxy on Bing is quite simple. Once you change your phone’s proxy settings, Bing automatically copies the settings when you use it. Subsequently, this method is applicable for both Android and iOS. However, the first attempt at browsing will require you to provide the proxy username and password for authentication.
Choosing the Best Proxy for Bing- NetNut
While there are several proxies in the market, choosing a premium provider like NetNut optimizes your security and privacy. Here are the different types of proxies you can use with Bing:
Residential proxies: These proxies are associated with an actual physical location. Hence, they are more reliable as Internet service providers (ISPs) provide them. In addition, they are less likely to be detected by anti-bot measures. Rotating residential proxies are the best solution for automated tasks like web scraping.
Datacenter proxies: They are usually less expensive as they originate from datacenters. They are high performance proxies that allow you to enjoy a fast connection.
Mobile proxies: Mobile proxies provide high-level privacy, security, and anonymity as you use Bing on your smartphone. They are quite reliable as your network traffic is routed through an actual mobile device.
NetNut is an industry-leading proxy provider that comes with smart CAPTCHA bypass features. Say goodbye to geographical restrictions and website blocks when you use NetNut proxies with Bing for either personal or professional use.
Conclusion
The first step in using a Bing proxy is to ensure you have premium proxies. Although free proxies have an appeal, you must bear in mind that the best proxies are never free. Look for reliable providers like NetNut that sells fast proxies and provides excellent support.
This guide has examined how to use Bing proxies on Windows, mobile devices, and iOS. We hope that you can configure your device’s proxy settings with this guide. Once you have integrated the proxies, it will connect automatically whenever you perform a Bing search.
Kindly contact our customer support if you have any questions regarding the best proxy for your use case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the common applications of Bing Scraping?
Scraping Bing provides access to data that can be used for various purposes including:
- Market research
- Product monitoring
- Search Engine Optimization
- Local search analysis
- Academic research
- Content aggregation
- Ad verification
What are the limitations associated with Bing scraping?
Although Bing scraping is a powerful tool for gathering data, there are several limitations. They include:
- Rate limiting: Bing implements rate limits to avoid excessive scraping by one user. Sending too many requests within a short period can cause the browser to lag.
- CAPTCHA: This is a test designed to tell humans apart from computers. Regular scrapers may not be equipped to handle CAPTCHAs and this can lead to an IP block.
- Dynamic content: Some Bing search results may load dynamically using JavaScript. Therefore, if the scraper is not designed to handle JavaScript, data retrieval will not be efficient.
- Structural changes: The HTML structure of Bing’s search result page can change at any time. Since scrapers rely on specific HTML structures, these changes can break your scraper.
What are some considerations when using Bing proxies?
- There are different types of proxy protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS. Choose the type that fits your use case.
- Use rotating proxies to reduce the risk of being detected.
- Respect Bing’s rate limits even when using proxies to avoid overloading the system.
- Modify request headers to make it seem like they are coming from a real browser. It includes using a realistic User-Agent string
- Implement retry logic to handle request failure due to proxy issues.