Lead Validation
Understand how Status Check validates domains and emails, what each check means, and how to interpret results.
What is Lead Validation?
Lead validation is the process of verifying that a domain is reachable and an email address can receive messages - without actually sending an email. This helps you:
- Avoid bounced emails
- Identify inactive companies
- Detect parked/placeholder domains
- Verify SSL security
- Find redirect chains
- Check email deliverability
Domain Validation
What We Check
When you validate a domain, Status Check performs comprehensive health checks:
1. HTTP Status Code
What it is: The response code when we try to reach the website.
Common Status Codes:
- 200 OK: Website is live and responding ✅
- 301/302 Redirect: Website redirects elsewhere 🔄
- 403 Forbidden: Access denied ⚠️
- 404 Not Found: Page doesn't exist ❌
- 500 Server Error: Server problems ❌
- Timeout: No response after 10 seconds ⏱️
What it means:
- 200-299: Healthy, reachable website
- 300-399: Redirecting (check final destination)
- 400-499: Client errors, may not be reachable
- 500-599: Server problems, temporary or permanent
2. SSL Certificate Validation
What it is: Check if the website has a valid security certificate (HTTPS).
Results:
- ✅ Valid SSL: Secure, properly configured certificate
- ⚠️ Invalid SSL: Expired, self-signed, or misconfigured
- ❌ No SSL: Website uses HTTP (not secure)
Why it matters:
- Modern businesses use HTTPS
- Invalid/missing SSL indicates poor maintenance
- Browsers warn users about non-HTTPS sites
- May indicate abandoned or low-quality website
3. Final URL (Redirect Chain)
What it is: The ultimate destination after following all redirects.
Example:
example.com
→ www.example.com (301 redirect)
→ https://www.example.com (301 redirect)
→ https://www.example.com/ (final destination)
Why it matters:
- Shows if domain redirects to a different brand
- Identifies merger/acquisition situations
- Detects URL hijacking
- Reveals actual company website
4. Response Time
What it is: How fast the website responds (in milliseconds).
Benchmarks:
- 0-500ms: Excellent, fast server
- 500-1500ms: Good, acceptable speed
- 1500-5000ms: Slow, possible issues
- 5000ms+: Very slow or overloaded
- Timeout: No response within 10 seconds
Why it matters:
- Slow sites may indicate poor infrastructure
- Timeouts suggest dead or misconfigured domains
- Speed correlates with business quality
5. Parked Domain Detection
What it is: Identification of placeholder/parking page domains.
Parked domains include:
- Domain registrar parking pages ("This domain is for sale")
- Coming soon pages with no real business
- Default server pages
- Redirect farms
- Ad-filled placeholder sites
How we detect:
- Content analysis for common parking patterns
- Check for domain-for-sale indicators
- Identify placeholder templates
- Detect advertising networks
Why it matters:
- Parked domains aren't real businesses
- No point reaching out to parking pages
- Saves time and credits on invalid leads
Email Validation
What We Check
Email validation verifies deliverability without sending a test email:
1. Email Deliverability
What it is: Can this email address actually receive messages?
Checks performed:
- Syntax validation (proper email format)
- Domain existence check
- MX record verification (mail server configured)
- SMTP connection test
- Mailbox existence verification
Results:
- ✅ Deliverable: Email is valid and accepts mail
- ⚠️ Unknown: Could not verify (catch-all domain)
- ❌ Undeliverable: Email will bounce
2. Catch-All Detection
What it is: Does the domain accept emails to ANY address?
Example:
john@example.com → Accepted
randomtext@example.com → Also accepted
anythinghere@example.com → Also accepted
Why it matters:
- Catch-all domains accept all emails
- Can't verify if specific address is real
- Higher risk of bounces
- Common in small companies, less common in enterprises
Results:
- True: Domain is catch-all (accepts everything)
- False: Domain validates individual addresses
3. Email Service Provider
What it is: Which email service hosts this address.
Common Providers:
- Gmail (Google Workspace)
- Microsoft (Outlook, Office 365)
- Apple (iCloud)
- Yahoo
- Custom mail servers
Why it matters:
- Enterprise email (Google Workspace, Office 365) suggests legitimate business
- Free personal email (gmail.com for non-workspace) may be low quality lead
- Custom servers show investment in infrastructure
4. MX Record Domain
What it is: The mail server handling emails for this domain.
Example:
Email: john@example.com
MX Record: gmail-smtp-in.l.google.com
This shows Example Inc uses Google Workspace.
Why it matters:
- Confirms email is properly configured
- Identifies the actual mail provider
- Helps understand company's tech stack
Validation States
Leads progress through validation states:
1. New
- Just added to system
- Not yet validated
- No validation data available
Action: Validate to get results
2. Validating
- Validation currently in progress
- Usually completes within 30 seconds
- Multiple validation checks running
Action: Wait for completion
3. Verified
- Validation completed successfully
- All checks passed with good results
- Lead is high quality
Action: Proceed with outreach
4. Warning
- Validation completed with minor issues
- Examples:
- Slow response time
- Invalid SSL
- Catch-all email domain
- Redirects detected
Action: Review issues, may still be viable
5. Risky
- Validation found significant problems
- Examples:
- 4xx/5xx HTTP errors
- Parked domain detected
- Email undeliverable
- Timeout/unreachable
Action: Investigate before outreach
6. Error
- Validation failed completely
- Could not complete checks
- Technical error or invalid input
Action: Check input data, retry validation
Validation Timing
Automatic Validation
When it happens:
- CSV file uploads (all leads validated automatically)
- Bulk import with "validate now" option
- Scheduled re-validation (if enabled)
Processing time:
- Small batches (< 100): Near instant
- Medium batches (100-1,000): 1-2 minutes
- Large batches (1,000-10,000): 3-5 minutes
- Very large (10,000+): 5-15 minutes
Manual Validation
When to use:
- New leads added manually
- Re-validate existing leads
- Spot-check specific leads
- Periodic data refresh
How to trigger:
- Select leads to validate
- Click Validate button
- Confirm credit usage
- Validation begins immediately
Reading Validation Results
In the Leads Table
Each lead shows:
- Status chip: Color-coded validation state
- Score: 0-100 quality rating
- Domain health: HTTP status, SSL status
- Email deliverability: If email was provided
In Lead Details
Click any lead to see full validation data:
- Complete HTTP status details
- Redirect chain visualization
- SSL certificate information
- Response time metrics
- Email validation breakdown
- Service provider information
- MX record details
- Validation timestamps
Validation Credits
How Credits Are Used
- 1 credit = 1,000 validations
- Both domain AND email (if provided) count as 1 validation per lead
- Re-validation counts as a new validation
- Failed validations still consume credits
Cost Examples
| Leads | Domain Only | Domain + Email | Credit Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 100 | 100 | 0.1 credit |
| 500 | 500 | 500 | 0.5 credit |
| 1,000 | 1,000 | 1,000 | 1 credit |
| 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5 credits |
Best Practices
- Validate Before Outreach: Always check leads before campaigns
- Focus on Verified: Prioritize fully validated leads
- Investigate Warnings: Review warnings - some may still be good
- Skip Risky: Don't waste time on high-risk leads
- Re-Validate Periodically: Websites change - recheck quarterly
- Check Email AND Domain: Both together give complete picture
- Use Scores: Let the score guide prioritization
Validation Accuracy
Domain Validation
- Accuracy: 99%+ for HTTP status and SSL
- Real-time: Checks live website at validation time
- Updated: Results reflect current state
Email Validation
- Accuracy: 95%+ for deliverability
- Non-invasive: No emails sent during validation
- Catch-all Caveat: Cannot guarantee delivery on catch-all domains
Troubleshooting
"Validation Failed" Error
Possible causes:
- Invalid domain format
- Domain doesn't exist (typo, expired)
- Network connectivity issues
- Rate limiting
Solution:
- Verify domain spelling
- Check domain exists (visit in browser)
- Wait a moment and retry
- Contact support if persists
Slow Validation
Possible causes:
- Large batch size
- Slow target websites
- High API load
Solution:
- Break into smaller batches
- Check History page for progress
- Validation continues in background
Unexpected Results
Questions to check:
- Is the domain typed correctly?
- Has the business recently changed domains?
- Is website temporarily down?
- Has email provider changed?
Next steps:
- Visit domain in browser to verify
- Send test email to check deliverability
- Re-validate to get fresh data
Next Steps
- Lead Scoring - Understand how leads are scored
- API Reference - Validate via API
- Batch Processing - Process large lists efficiently
Support
Need help with validation?
- Email: support@status-check.io
- Dashboard: app.status-check.io