In the world of the internet, IP addresses play a big role. They not only let websites and servers identify their visitors, but they also connect these websites and servers to those visitors in the first place.
That is why forward Domain Name System (DNS) lookup and reverse DNS lookup play massively important roles in the internet browsing system.
What is Forward DNS Lookup?
When you have to visit a website such as BuzzFeed.com, you simply type in that address and connect to the website.
But you don’t simply connect by that address alone. Instead, the address, which is called a Domain Name System (DNS), looks for the IP address associated with BuzzFeed.com and redirects you to where the page is located on the internet through the IP address.
This makes website browsing that much easier and allows you to jump from site to site without having to remember lengthy IP addresses. Technically speaking, this process is called a DNS lookup, which is due to how a DNS “looks up” a website’s IP address and connects you to it easily.
Now, that was about finding websites through DNS. But what if you wanted to find out a DNS through an IP address?
That’s where reverse DNS lookup comes in.
What is Reverse DNS Lookup?
Simply put, reverse DNS lookup is the exact opposite of a forward DNS lookup. Instead of using a DNS to find an IP address, you search through an IP address to find its DNS or domain name.
Now, “why would I care about that”, you ask?
It helps you with lead generation!
How Does DNS Lookup Help with Lead Generation?
As you may know, you could track down a visitor’s location through the IP address that they are using, which is captured by your website’s server.
But did you know that you could use this IP address for a reverse DNS lookup?
Users who utilize internet services from home are mainly assigned an IP address by their internet service provider (ISP). This IP address can provide its location information quite easily.
But that’s not all that it can do.
When you do a DNS lookup with an API through a website visitor’s IP, there’s a high chance that you would end up finding the DNS or domain name for their local ISP.
You could then use this DNS information on a website registrar such as WhoIs.com to look up the information of the domain’s owner, where you can easily find their name, contact number, and email address. This contributes to the lead generation effectively.
That’s it. There’s your lead. It might seem complicated at first, but it is a very effective way to capture contact information for people who have shown an interest in your services.
This is particularly useful for websites that cater to a B2B industry since this allows them to find information more accurately. People using a corporate IP address have more chances of the IP redirecting back to their business’ DNS or domain name, through which you can find contact information more easily.
While this may not have a complete rate of success for every visitor, it does increase your chances of capturing high-quality and relevant leads, that have more chances to convert.
As with everything else, practice makes you perfect in this aspect. Make sure to seek help from any online tools that you could find, and don’t hesitate from reaching out to professionals who could help you in this regard.