Verified Domain FAQ

What is a verified domain?

A verified domain is a website that has had its identity as well as the identity of the company or person owning it thoroughly checked and verified by a Domain Verification Authority.

For doing this, the Domain Verification Authority does comprehensive scrutiny of the business related and other relevant documents of the website owner to establish the credibility and legitimacy of the domain and its owner. Once this is completed to a satisfactory level, the Domain Verification Authority certifies the domain as being a verified domain and issues a “Verified Domain” Site seal to the website.

Do I need to get my domain verified?

Domain verification is not compulsory for all websites. General or personal websites generally don’t require domain verification. However if your website is an e-commerce website or one that is providing and requesting sensitive information from visitors, then domain verification might be necessary for you.

To check if you need to get your domain verified, check the following:

1. Do you have monetary or financial transactions taking place on your website?
2. Do you ask visitors to your website to provide personal information by filling in an online form?
3. Do you provide information related to your business on your website, which if supplied in a falsified or altered way, be misused by others?
4. Do you feel that you visitors to your website should first be satisfied about your credibility before they conduct any transactions?
5. Have you received reports of visitors to your website being scammed by phishing websites?

If you answered yes to all of the above questions, you definitely should get your domains verified.

How can I get my domain verified?

For this you need to contact a Domain Verification Authority. One of the best Domain Verification Authorities today is GeoTrust – a pioneer in the field. Before you can get your domain verified, you will have to register with the verification authority.

There after you will have to fill in an online application form and fax or scan and email all necessary and relevant business and domain related documents to the verification authority. The authority will check your and your business’ credentials by thoroughly scrutinizing the documents. Sophisticated and advanced identity verifications techniques are used for this purpose.

Once the Domain Verification Authority is sure of the legitimacy of your business and your domain, it will accept your domain as verified and issue a “Verified Domain” Site seal to your website; which you can then display on your website to show that it is a verified and secure domain.

Who verifies my domain?

As stated in the question above, domain verification is carried out by certain Domain Verification Authorities. These are generally long-established and stable internet security expert firms who have established their credentials as being trusted and neutral third party verifiers. One such established Domain Verification Authority is GeoTrust.

Do I really need to provide so much documentation?

Yes, it is necessary. Without providing proper and all relevant documentation, the Domain Verification Authority will not be able to fully establish your credentials. However if you are worried about your sensitive information leaking out, rest assured; the Domain Verification Authority is usually highly credible and an expert in security.

The better documentation you provide the better and quicker will the verification authority be able to validate and establish your identity and credentials. So don’t hesitate in providing the necessary documentation. It is all in your best interests.

How to identify if a domain is verified?

The domains that are verified are issued a “Verified Domain” Site seal by the verification authority. This site seal is generally displayed on the home page and other relevant pages of the website. The Verified Domain Site seal is the best method of knowing that the domains are verified.

The site seal in itself is a link to the web-server of the verification authority and carries a unique code identifying the website with which it is related. Whenever a visitor visits the website carrying the site seal, the seal links to the server of the authority and re-validates the identity of the website in real time. If the identity is verified, only then does the site seal show up.

What are the benefits of domain verification?

The usefulness of domain verification are multi-fold. First of all, getting your domains verified increases the image of your business and your website. It also instills confidence in visitors to your website because your domain has been verified by a trusted, independent third-party and given a Verified Domain Site Seal.

In addition to inspiring confidence in customers, domain verification also has other benefits. You will be doing away with the risk of phishing on your website because others will not be able to impersonate your website. The increased trust of customers and visitors will also result in a direct increase in the revenue generation through your website.

So on the whole, getting your domain verified will bring all-round benefits for your business and website.

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