A VPN or virtual private network is a technology that allows you to create a secure connection across the Internet. Initially, VPN technology was invented to connect different business networks over the Internet securely. Today, VPNs are popular for many other reasons. A large number of users and digital marketers use VPNs to protect their activities from cyber criminals, which are very common on public and Wi-Fi networks.
VPNs have become a very useful tool for online marketers. Now, let’s look at some unique ways digital marketers can use VPNs to improve their marketing efforts. But before moving on to that, let’s start with the basics of VPNs.
How Does a VPN Work?
A VPN routes your internet connection through a private VPN server you choose instead of your internet service provider. This way, your network traffic is sent over a secure connection.
When you use VPN software, it starts encrypting all your data. This process is so fast that even your internet service provider or Wi-Fi provider cannot detect it. The encrypted data first goes to the VPN server and then to the final destination.
VPN in digital marketing protects your data until it reaches its destination and is decrypted. It creates a highly secure tunnel from your computer or smartphone to the Internet and hides your sensitive information, such as the files you download, the websites you visit, and your interactions with third-party apps.
In addition, a VPN allows you to hide your IP address. Third parties see only the IP address of the remote VPN server, not your own. This feature opens up many advantages for digital marketers.
Benefits of Using a VPN for Digital Marketing Success
1. VPN for SEO
A VPN in digital marketing has some SEO benefits. These can be categorized as:
– Local keywords: out of almost 25 billion keywords, you can choose the right ones to promote your product in the chosen GEO. By changing the location to the country you would like to target and connecting to the appropriate GEO server, you will select keywords for that specific market.
The ability to browse the Internet as a local in any region you need will allow you to understand your target audience better and choose local groups for advertising and link-building resources.
Beta testing: Brand new ads or campaigns are difficult to test if your browser remembers your settings. If you want to see your marketing campaign through your customers’ eyes, a VPN is the easiest and most efficient way. To do this, clear your cache and cookies and connect to a remote VPN server.
2. Competitors’ Analysis
Competitor research is an essential step in designing a marketing strategy to maximize results.
You should monitor your client’s competitors’ activities as a digital marketer. This will help you understand their marketing strategies and find backlink opportunities.
Moreover, when you monitor competitors, you immediately know about unhappy customers.
VPN in digital marketing allows you to secretly monitor your client’s competitors without them ever knowing you’re browsing their websites. This is made possible by changing the IP address when connecting to a remote VPN server. It is also a great way to bypass blocking if your competitors set it to prevent employees of competing companies from viewing their Internet resources.
3. Hide Your IP when Processing Transactions
The more successful your marketing is, the more customers and profits you will have. Processing payments and sensitive customer data needs to be as secure as possible. Luckily, you can handle this by processing transactions over a VPN.
Thanks to a secure tunnel, your payment data and customer’s payment data are encrypted from third parties, and data leakage is impossible. For this reason, using a VPN in digital marketing is very important.
4. Bypassing Geographic Restrictions and Censorship
Digital marketers usually have an opportunity to work remotely. This enables them to travel the world and balance business and private life.
It’s sad how, in the last few years, the stranglehold of internet censorship has become tighter in some parts of the world. Fortunately, VPNs can help you access even geographically restricted resources.
With a reliable VPN, you can connect to a server in a particular country, and access blocked sites or Internet resources.
5. Remote Work Safety
A VPN is essential when working from home, as it cannot be compromised. Most remote work involves marketers connecting their gadgets to open Wi-Fi networks in neighborhood cafes, hotels, or even on the street. This poses risks to cybersecurity, and the majority of professionals using such insecure Wi-Fi connections experience problems in this sphere.
A suitable VPN in digital marketing will help encrypt all your online activities and work entirely safely. You can do sensitive work. Rest assured that hackers won’t get access to any of that information.
6. Objective Advertising Evaluation
Use VPNs to view your advertising as your target audience does across many platforms and geographies. This is quite helpful if you run YouTube advertisements.
Analyzing how prospective consumers are viewing your ads and what other businesses are doing can help you tweak your campaign as needed to maximize its effectiveness.
Tips on Choosing a VPN for Digital Marketing
Now you know the benefits of a VPN. Here are some tips for choosing a reliable VPN provider:
- Check the log policies of your potential VPN providers. This will help you determine what information your provider will store about your online activity.
- The level of encryption they provide will tell you exactly how well your data is encrypted and how hard it is to hack. Some providers offer high-security 256-bit encryption, while others may use 128-bit, which is relatively weak.
- Find the speed you will get and ensure it meets your needs.
- Find out how many servers the provider has so that you can work around any possible blockages and restrictions.
So, the use of VPN in digital marketing is underestimated. It lets you monitor competitors, work with regional influencers, and research markets. Learn about this technology, and you will discover its multiple uses in your job.