Website Categorization Lookup: Check the category of any domain name on the go

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a website categorization lookup?

A website categorization lookup is an online service that identifies the category of a specific domain name. It uses machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP) to analyze the content and characteristics of a site.

By examining factors like keywords, site structure, and other indicators, the lookup tool determines the domain’s most relevant category.

What information does a website categorization lookup show?

For each domain, you get:

• Category path: Up to four tiers of the IAB Content Taxonomy, from broad to specific (e.g., Entertainment › Music › Alternative Music), with the matching IAB category ID.
• Confidence score: Our own score for the top-level category, from 0 to 1. It is not the chance that the category is right.
• Domain status: Whether the site is active, parked or not serving content, or a live site we could not read today (for example blocked or unreachable).
• Brand-safety checks: Whether the site was checked for adult, gambling, and sensitive content, and any flags found.
• OpenRTB category IDs: IDs for every level of the category path, ready for ad tech systems.

Can I share the lookup results?

Yes. Each result has its own URL, so you can copy it and share it with colleagues for reference.

How do I categorize many domains at once?

To categorize domains in bulk or from your own applications, use the Website Categorization API. Send up to 100 domains in a single request to the bulk endpoint. Use it to enrich logs, filter traffic, or classify domain lists automatically. See the bulk requests documentation for details.

If you need categories for millions of domains at once, the Website Categorization Database gives you the full dataset as a download.

Why are some parts of the lookup hidden?

Some information is hidden in the preview. To see the full results for a domain, click View full record. Each full record uses one API credit, and only when it returns a category.

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