How to Scrape Data Behind Geo-Restricted Content Using Proxies

Web scraping often faces restrictions based on geographical locations. Many websites serve different content based on the user's IP address, limiting access to certain regions. Using proxies can help bypass these geo-restrictions by routing requests through IP addresses from allowed locations.

Use Case: Scraping Country-Specific Pricing Data

A travel aggregator wants to collect flight ticket prices from an airline's website. However, the airline displays different prices based on the user's country. To get accurate pricing data from multiple regions, the aggregator must use geo-targeted proxies.

Steps to Scrape Geo-Restricted Content Using Proxies

1. Choose a Proxy Provider with Geo-Targeting

Several proxy providers offer geo-targeted IPs. Some popular choices include:

• Mrscraper
• Bright Data
• Smartproxy
• ProxyMesh
• Oxylabs
• Soax

Choose a provider that supports the country you need to scrape.

2. Integrate Proxies in Python Requests

Use the requests module in Python to send requests through a geo-targeted proxy.

import requests

proxy = {
    "http": "http://username:password@proxy-provider.com:port",
    "https": "http://username:password@proxy-provider.com:port"
}

url = "https://example.com"
response = requests.get(url, proxies=proxy)
print(response.text)

Replace username, password, proxy-provider.com, and port with actual credentials.

3. Using Proxies in Selenium for Browser Automation

For scraping JavaScript-heavy websites, configure Selenium with a proxy.

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options

proxy = "proxy-provider.com:port"
chrome_options = Options()
chrome_options.add_argument(f'--proxy-server={proxy}')

# Initialize WebDriver
browser = webdriver.Chrome(options=chrome_options)
browser.get("https://example.com")
print(browser.page_source)

If authentication is required, use an extension or modify Chrome settings manually.

4. Rotating Proxies for Large-Scale Scraping

To avoid bans, rotate proxies with each request.

import random

proxies = [
    "http://username:password@proxy1:port",
    "http://username:password@proxy2:port",
    "http://username:password@proxy3:port"
]

url = "https://example.com"
for _ in range(10):  # Simulating multiple requests
    proxy = {"http": random.choice(proxies), "https": random.choice(proxies)}
    response = requests.get(url, proxies=proxy)
    print(response.status_code)

5. Handling CAPTCHA and Anti-Bot Mechanisms

Many geo-restricted sites use CAPTCHAs or bot-detection mechanisms. To bypass them:

• Use headless browsers with human-like behavior.
• Rotate user agents and browser headers.
• Implement delays and avoid aggressive scraping.
• Utilize CAPTCHA-solving services like 2Captcha or CapSolver.

Conclusion

Geo-targeted proxies make it possible to scrape region-specific data without location-based restrictions. Whether you're gathering pricing details, localized content, or other region-dependent information, proxies ensure reliable access without detection.

For an effortless solution, try MrScraper—an AI-powered web scraping tool that simplifies geo-restricted content extraction. With built-in proxy support, automated data retrieval, and intelligent scraping capabilities, MrScraper makes data collection seamless.