Alright so I'm trying to set up a new scraping flow for some SERP data and my proxy speed tests are all over the place like I'll run a standard ping test to 8.8.8.8 and get 20ms but then the actual request to the target site times out or takes five seconds it's useless the methodology is broken you gotta test against your actual use case not some random server because the routing is completely different especially with residential IPs where the exit node might be in the right country but the path to your target is garbage I spent two days thinking my new provider was fast until I tried to load the actual pages I needed to scrape and everything crawled to a halt show me the numbers from the real destination not a speedtest site
speed testing proxies is a joke if you're just pinging google
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speed testing proxies is a joke if you're just pinging google
Wraith
New member
Disagree. U think speed tests are useless but that's just not true. Ping times to 8.8.8.8 tell u nothing about how a proxy will perform on ur actual target site. The routing, the server response, all that stuff matters way more. U need to test with the real site and real requests. U can have a low ping but still get timeouts or slow loading times because of bad routing or throttling. U want reliable data, u test the actual use case, not some simplified speed test. Speedtest.net is just a rough gauge, but it don't reflect the complexities of proxy routing and server response. If u want real results, test with the actual scraper requests, not ping to some Google DNS. Otherwise u just wasting ur time chasing phantom numbers that don't mean squat. Routing is everything. Residential proxies are especially tricky because even if they're fast on paper, the path can be garbage. U gotta prove it with real data, not some numbers from a speedtest. The truth is, proxy performance is about how they perform on the target, not how fast they ping Google.
Logic
New member
Okay I get where you're coming from but speed tests are not completely useless they are just a starting point and not the end-all be-all I mean ping to 8.8.8.8 can tell u if the network route to the internet backbone is bad but it definitely won't tell u how your proxy will perform on a specific target site that needs real world testing not some synthetic benchmark the key is to combine both approaches but focus more on testing with the actual target URLs to see if your proxy can handle the load and latency requirements because in the end it's all about the actual request performance not some random ping result if you're just relying on speed tests you're flying blind and that can cost you big time in terms of wasted time and bad ROAS.
Whet
New member
counterpoint: you're assuming all proxies are the same and that ping to google is even relevant. if you're scraping actual sites, you should test against those sites or at least similar endpoints. smh, relying on speedtests alone is just guessing. data from the real destination or bust.
Look, speed tests are just the beginning, sure, but the idea that ping to google or some random server is useless? That's just naive. It's like trying to measure a car's speed by just looking at the odometer at idle. Yeah, it doesn't tell you everything, but it's a quick health check. If your ping to google is 20ms but your actual request to a target site times out or crawls, you're missing the big picture. Routing can be totally different once you hit the target, and that's where the real trouble starts. You gotta test against the real endpoints, no doubt. But dismissing the initial network checks entirely? That's throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It's about stacking the odds in your favor early, spotting those obvious routing issues before you waste hours on smth that's doomed from the start. Just because speedtests aren't the end-all doesn't mean they're useless. They're a piece of the puzzle, and ignoring that piece because it doesn't tell the full story is a rookie mistake.
Script
New member
smh, exactly. ping is just the opening act, not the main event. actual site load times tell you way more about your proxies' real performance, but most folks ignore that.
OMG, yes! This is exactly what's been bugging me for ages. Speed tests like pinging google are just like trying to judge a marathon runner by how fast they walk to the mailbox. U gotta test ur proxies on the actual sites u wanna scrape or load, not some random speedtest server that's got a totally different routing path. I mean, I've had proxies that ping fine but then it's like they hit a brick wall when I try to actually load a page. Routing on residential IPs especially, it's a lottery. And honestly, it's kinda insane that people still rely on those stupid ping tests to judge proxy quality. U want real data, load the page, see how it performs. That's the true measure, not some ping to a server halfway across the world. U gotta simulate ur real use case, period. Otherwise, u just wasting ur time thinking u got a fast proxy when all it does is pretend to be quick on some unrelated route. End of the day, the real test is what happens when u hit that target site, not some ping to google.
Okay but have you actually run the numbers? Ping to google or some random server is a false sense of security. It's like checking your car's speedometer at idle. It tells you nothing about real performance on the target site, especially with residentials where routing can be a disaster. Load the actual page you want to scrape, then see the response time and EPC.
Ping is just a speed test, not a reliability test. You could get a fast ping to google and still get crushed on the actual LP. Low latency doesn't always mean good leads or stable proxies. Time is money, literally. Testing with real sites or at least simulating the traffic pattern is where the rubber meets the road.
Yeah, pinging google is about as useful as measuring your car's speed with a radar gun on a highway that has no traffic, back in the day we just used real site load times for a more honest read, now everyone's chasing that sweet low ping metric but forgets that a proxy can be lightning fast on a test but still choke when real traffic hits, it's like measuring a site's strength with a stopwatch instead of looking at how it actually performs under load, don't fall for the quick wins, the real ROI is in the actual test, not the easy ones.
Latency
New member
exactly, pinging google is just a quick check not the real story. Load times on actual LPs or affiliate sites are what matters cause that's where conversions happen. Low ping means nothing if the proxy is unstable or slow on the backend. Broad targeting with aggressive exclusions still outperforms hyper-targeting for cold traffic but you gotta test on real assets to know if your proxies hold up under actual load. All angles.
Whiplash
New member
Lol. U think pinging google is a proxy speed test? My dude, that's like judging a fighter by how fast they run the 40. It ain't about the ping, it's about the real load times, stability, and if ur proxy can actually handle the LP. U chasing that low ping myth, but the real deal is if it gets u paid without getting cooked. U want real results, test on the actual site, not just google. But I get it, easier to chase stats than do real work
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