Domain glossary
Key domain name industry terms, explained clearly.
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A
A record
An A record maps a hostname to an IPv4 address. For example, www.example.it may have an A record pointing to t…
Admin-C
Admin-C is the abbreviation for Administrative Contact, referring to an administrative contact associated with…
Aftermarket
In domain name industry, aftermarket refers to secondary market where registered or owned domains are sold, ra…
Anchor text
Anchor text, or clickable text, is the visible portion of a hyperlink that users can click. In HTML, it typica…
Anycast DNS
Anycast DNS is a method where multiple DNS servers located in different places announce the same IP address. T…
Auth-Info
Auth-Info, also known as Auth-Code, authorization code, or transfer code, is a code used in certain procedures…
Authoritative DNS
An authoritative DNS server is one that provides definitive answers for a DNS zone it manages. When a client q…
B
Backlink
A backlink is a hyperlink originating from one webpage and pointing to another. From the destination’s perspec…
Backorder
A domain backorder is a pre-emptive request by an individual to attempt registration of a name once it becomes…
Brand monitoring
Brand monitoring is the ongoing activity of tracking mentions of a brand, company name, or products and servic…
Brand protection
Brand protection, or trademark protection, encompasses organizational, technical, and legal measures designed…
Buy now
"Buy now" is a fixed-price selling option: the buyer can accept the listed price and initiate the purchase pro…
C
Canonical URL
A canonical URL indicates the preferred version of a web page when multiple URLs contain identical or very sim…
ccTLD
A ccTLD is the acronym for country-code top-level domain, a first-level domain associated with a country or te…
CDN
CDN stands for Content Delivery Network, a network of distributed servers designed to deliver web content—such…
Certificate Transparency
Certificate Transparency, often abbreviated as CT, is an open system for recording and verifying TLS certifica…
Cloud
Cloud, or cloud computing, is a model through which computing resources such as servers, storage, databases, n…
CNAME record
A CNAME record is a DNS entry creating an alias from one name to another canonical name. For example, if shop…
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting is the abusive registration, maintenance, or use of a domain name in violation of the rights or…
D
Direct navigation
Direct navigation occurs when a user reaches a website by typing its domain name directly into the browser bar…
DKIM
DKIM, DomainKeys Identified Mail, is an email authentication method that allows the sending domain to associat…
DMARC
DMARC, Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance, is a DNS-record policy that instructs r…
DNS
DNS, Domain Name System, is the distributed system that associates human-readable names such as example.it wit…
DNS abuse
DNS abuse refers to harmful activities that exploit the domain name system, registration processes, or specifi…
DNS propagation
DNS propagation refers to the time it takes for a DNS zone change to become visible across resolvers and other…
DNS query
A DNS query is a request by a client or resolver for domain name information, such as IP addresses for website…
DNS record
A DNS record is an entry in a DNS zone that links a name to information needed to identify or configure an Int…
DNSSEC
DNSSEC, Domain Name System Security Extensions, adds digital signatures to DNS data to allow validating resolv…
Domain appraisal
Domain valuation is an estimate of its potential economic worth within a specific context and timeframe. There…
Domain Authority
Domain Authority, often abbreviated as DA, is a proprietary score introduced by Moz to estimate a domain’s rel…
Domain broker
A domain broker is a specialized intermediary that assists one or both parties in the purchase and sale of a d…
Domain forwarding
Domain forwarding, or domain forwarding, is a service that directs visitors from one domain name to another we…
Domain hack
A domain hack is an internet name where the registrable domain and its extension combine to form a word, phras…
Domain hijacking
Domain hijacking, or domain theft, refers to the loss of control over a registered domain name due to unauthor…
Domain landing page
A domain landing page is a web page associated with a registered domain name, designed to showcase it, collect…
Domain portfolio
A domain portfolio is the collection of Internet names registered or managed by an individual, company, or inv…
Domain portfolio management
Domain portfolio management encompasses the activities required to maintain a secure, up-to-date, and strategi…
Domain Rating
Domain Rating (DR) is a proprietary metric developed by Ahrefs that estimates the relative strength of a domai…
Domain spam score
The domain spam score is an indicator generated by an SEO tool to estimate whether a website’s backlink profil…
Domain tasting
Domain tasting was the practice of registering a domain and deleting it within a short timeframe, exploiting t…
Domain transfer
Domain transfer refers to the process of moving a domain registration from one registrar to another. Typically…
Domain typo
A domain typo is an incorrect or unintentional variation of a domain name, often caused by typing errors, miss…
Domainer
A domainer is an individual or organization that selects, registers, purchases, manages, or sells domain names…
Drop catching
Drop catching refers to the attempt to register a domain name the moment it becomes available again after canc…
E
EPP code
The EPP code is an authorization code used to confirm the transfer of a domain between registrars in top-level…
Escrow
In domain transfers, an escrow service acts as an intermediary that temporarily holds payment and coordinates…
Expired domain
An expired domain is a name whose registration has not been renewed by the expected date, but this does not au…
G
General availability
General Availability, or general availability, is the phase when a new extension or registration program becom…
Glue record
A glue record is a DNS addressing data published in the parent zone to help resolve a nameserver whose name re…
Grace period
A grace period is a timeframe specified by the rules of a particular extension or registrar during which the d…
gTLD
A gTLD, or generic Top-Level Domain, is a generic first-level domain, meaning the final part of an internet na…
H
Historical Whois
Historical Whois is a service that preserves over time copies of registration data and publicly accessible inf…
Homoglyph attack
A homoglyph attack uses visually similar characters to create domain names that may be mistaken for legitimate…
HSTS
HSTS, or HTTP Strict Transport Security, is a policy that a website communicates to the browser via the HTTP S…
HTTPS
HTTPS is the HTTP protocol transported over TLS, the mechanism that secures the connection between browser and…
I
IANA
IANA, the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, is the function responsible for coordinating central registries…
ICANN
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, is a nonprofit organization that coordinates a…
IDN
An IDN, or Internationalized Domain Name, is a domain name that includes non-ASCII characters such as accented…
IDN homograph
An IDN homograph is an internationalized domain name that visually resembles another name, often a well-known…
Installment payment
Installment payment for a domain name is a method where the buyer pays the total price in multiple installment…
J
K
L
M
Make offer
"Make offer" or "fai un'offerta" indicates that the seller is not necessarily presenting a fixed, binding pric…
Malware domain
A malware domain is a domain used to host, distribute, or control malicious software or related infrastructure…
MX record
An MX record, or Mail Exchanger, specifies which servers receive email intended for a domain. When a system se…
N
O
P
Parking
Domain parking, or domain parking, involves keeping a domain name registered without using it for a full websi…
Pending delete
Pending delete is a terminal status some TLDs apply after expiration or redemption phases, before full deletio…
Phishing domain
A phishing domain is a name used to host or distribute pages and messages that mimic a trustworthy organizatio…
Premium domain
A premium domain is a name for which the registry, registrar, or seller applies a price higher than the standa…
Premium renewal
Premium renewal refers to an elevated renewal fee applied to certain domain names, exceeding the standard cost…
PSRD
PSRD stands for Prestatore del Servizio di Risoluzione delle Dispute, the dispute resolution service provider…
R
Recursive resolver
A recursive resolver is a DNS server that receives a query from a client and attempts to obtain a complete res…
Redemption period
The redemption period is a recovery phase that certain TLDs implement after a domain has been deleted or enter…
Referring domains
Referring domains are distinct domains that contain at least one link to a website or page. If ten pages on th…
Registrar
A registrar is an authorized or accredited company that offers domain name registrations to the public and sub…
Registrar lock
Registrar lock is a protective status applied to a domain at the registrar level to prevent unauthorized trans…
Registry
A registry is the organization responsible for managing the central database and technical infrastructure for…
Registry lock
Registry lock is an advanced level of domain protection applied at the registry level or through a coordinated…
Reserved domain
A reserved domain is a name that the registry or registrar does not make available for standard registration d…
RIPE
RIPE NCC is the Regional Internet Registry responsible for allocating and registering Internet resources such…
rTLD
rTLD stands for regional Top-Level Domain, which is a first-level domain associated with a geographic region o…
S
Second-level domain
A second-level domain (SLD) is the label that appears immediately to the left of the Top Level Domain (TLD) in…
SPF
SPF, or Sender Policy Framework, is an email authentication mechanism that publishes a policy in DNS indicatin…
SSL certificate
A "SSL Certificate" is the common term for the digital certificate a server presents during an HTTPS connectio…
Subdomain
A subdomain is a hierarchical component of a DNS name located to the left of a higher-level domain, such as sh…
Sunrise period
The Sunrise period is a preliminary phase before the general launch of a new TLD, reserved for trademark holde…
T
Tech-C
Tech-C, or Technical Contact, is the technical contact associated with a domain registration according to the…
Trademark Claims
Trademark Claims is a notification mechanism included in certain new gTLD launch programs to alert potential r…
Trademark Clearinghouse
The Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) is a centralized database of verified trademarks used in certain new gTLD p…
Traffic domain
A traffic domain is a domain that receives visits, often without active campaigns or a complete website. Traff…
TTL
TTL, or Time To Live, indicates how long a DNS record may be cached by resolvers and other systems before it m…
Type-in traffic
Type-in traffic refers to visits generated when users type a domain name directly into their browser’s address…
Typosquatting
Typosquatting is the practice of registering or using domains that resemble well-known brands or websites, exp…
U
V
W
Whois
WHOIS is the traditional name of a service and protocol used to query information associated with domain names…
Whois privacy
Whois privacy is a service that limits the public exposure of registrant personal data in certain registration…
Wildcard DNS
Wildcard DNS is a configuration that allows a wildcard record, typically using an asterisk as the label, to pr…
X
Y
Z
Zone file
A zone file is a structured representation of DNS records associated with a zone, such as a domain or a delega…
Zone transfer
Zone transfer is the process of moving DNS zone records from one authoritative server to another, typically to…
ZSK
ZSK stands for Zone Signing Key: it is a DNSSEC key used to sign records within a zone. Resolvers that validat…