How to monitor your domain using Semonto

What is a domain?

Your domain is your address on the internet, usually made up of your company name followed by an extension like .com or .org. For example, Semonto’s domain is called Semonto.com. Your domain needs to be renewed regularly. If it expires, your domain is up for grabs. Anyone else can buy it. Imagine the damage this can do to your company.

The status of your domain

What is domain monitoring?

Domain monitoring is an automated way to check the expiration date and general status of your domain. When your domain is about to expire, the tool will notice it and let you know, so you can renew it in time. You also get informed of any other problems associated with your domain.

Why do you need to monitor your domain?

• Some domains are not automatically renewed
• Even automatic renewal can fail, for example if your credit card is rejected.
• If you forget to renew your domain, your website will become unreachable.
• Any with your domain associated e-mail services could also stop working.
• If your domain is not renewed, it can be hijacked by someone else.
• If your domain remains inaccessible, it harms your sales, SEO and reputation.

How to start monitoring your domain with Semonto

• Log into Semonto or create an account if you don’t have one.
• Select “add a website”.
• Enter the URL of the domain you want to monitor.
• Select “Domain” and click “Add website”.
• The domain will be added to your dashboard.

• Select the URL in the dashboard and go to Domain monitoring.
• There you can set your notification preferences: who should be notified and how.
• Semonto will start watching the status and expiration date.
• If your domain is about to expire, Semonto will warn you 14 days in advance and again 5 days in advance. You can adjust these reminders.
• Done! You can rest assured that no domain issues escape your attention.

How we monitor domains: using RDAP

To monitor domains, we consult a database that can be compared to an international phonebook, but for domains. This used to be called a WHOIS-search. This list is managed by non-profit organization IANA, using a protocol called RDAP: Registration Data Access Protocol. All domains are collected in this overview. When you activate domain monitoring, Semonto will access this database to retrieve the most recent information about your domain, like the expiry date, the registrar and the current status.

What is a TLD and why does it matter?

The part of your domain name following the dot (for example com, org or gov) is called the top-level domain or TLD. Some domains, for example the ones with TLD .be (Belgium) and .nl (The Netherlands), do not allow domain monitoring (yet). Here’s the list of TLDs that are supported.

FAQ

Why do I get the message that my domain cannot be monitored?

Some domains, for example the ones ending in .be (Belgium) and .nl (The Netherlands), do not allow this kind of monitoring (yet).

Here’s a full list of the domains (top level domains or TLDs) that are supported.

What do the domain status codes mean?

Besides expiration date checks, Semonto also checks for the domain status codes. Below is a list of the possible status codes.

A complete description of these status codes can be found at icann.org

Let us know if you need any help!

Do not hesitate to reach out if you need any help getting started. We are more than happy to assist you.