Score API

Returns a composite score (0–800, higher is better) for any domain, reflecting company size, time in business, and technology adoption. Based on ten years of SSL certificate history. Subdomains are automatically normalized.

Use alongside BizData for full firmographic profiles and Growth for quarter-over-quarter changes.

Methodology

The score combines four components: a base score from historical certificate activity, a recency multiplier that rewards sustained activity, a growth boost comparing recent vs older activity, and an expiration penalty for certificates nearing expiration.

Score Components

Component	Description
Base Score (β)	Accumulated points from 10 years of certificate history, weighted by market and time
Recency Multiplier (ε)	Ranges 0-1; penalizes domains where all certificates are very recent
Growth Boost (φ)	Positive if certificate activity increased year-over-year, negative if declined. The decline side is floored at half the base score
Expiration Penalty (λ)	Ramps down over the final 14 days of the newest certificate’s validity; 0 once no valid certificate remains

How It Works

1. Base Score. For each of the past 10 years, we calculate how many certificates were issued compared to the expected baseline for the market. More certificates = more points, with a cap at 100% of baseline.

2. Recency Check. If all certificates were issued within the current year, the score is reduced proportionally. A domain with 3+ years of history gets the full score.

3. Growth Adjustment. We compare certificate activity from the past 360 days against the prior 360 days (720-360 days ago). Growing companies get a boost; declining activity results in a penalty. A domain with no activity in the prior period receives no adjustment either way, and the penalty can never remove more than half the base score — a company that slows down is ranked below its peers, not erased.

4. Expiration Penalty. The penalty tracks the newest certificate still valid. It is neutral while more than 14 days of validity remain, then ramps down linearly to zero on the expiration date. Once no valid certificate remains, the score is zero regardless of history.

Calculation Method

Parameters

Symbol	Name	Notes
ΔT	Days since the first certificate was issued in the last 3 years	Certificates with a validity period over three years are ignored
ε	Recency Penalty multiplier	Decreases score in case all company certificates were created in the current year
|Cy|	Certificates per year	Number of certificates generated in a year
βcerts	Baseline Certificate Number	Calculated number of certificates expected for a business
βpt	Baseline points	The number of points to be awarded for a year (distribution of points between years is not uniform)
τ	Market Coefficient	Establishes a more accurate baseline for each specific market
Ω360	Lookback 360	Number of certificates generated in the past 360 days
Ω720	Lookback 720	Number of certificates generated between 720 and 360 days
β	Base score	The baseline score for the domain provided over ten years
θ	Growth points	Points awarded for growth, currently static at 50
φ	Growth boost	Year-over-year growth metric
φmin	Growth decline floor	Largest share of the base score a decline can remove, currently static at 0.5
Δτ	Days until the expiration of certificate	Measured against the latest-expiring certificate still valid on the scoring date
λd	Expiration penalty range	Range is in days (currently static at 14 days)
λ	Expiration penalty	Ramps from 1 to 0 across the final λd days of certificate validity

Recency Penalty Multiplier (ε)

$$\varepsilon = \min\left(\frac{\Delta T}{365},\, 1\right)$$

Base Score (β)

$$\beta = \sum_{y=1}^{10}\left(\min\left(\frac{\lvert C_y \rvert}{\beta_{\text{certs}}},\, 1\right)\cdot \beta_{\text{pt}}\cdot \tau \cdot \left(0.4 + 0.5 \cdot \exp\left(-\frac{(x - 6)^2}{8}\right) + 0.05 \cdot (x - 1)\right)\right)$$

Growth Sign (θsign)

$$(\Omega_{360} \geq \Omega_{720} \rightarrow \theta_{\text{sign}} = 1) \wedge (\Omega_{360} < \Omega_{720} \rightarrow \theta_{\text{sign}} = -1)$$

Growth Boost (φ)

$$\varphi = \begin{cases} 0 & \Omega_{720} = 0 \\[6pt] \max\left(\dfrac{\Omega_{360} - \Omega_{720}}{\Omega_{360} + \Omega_{720}} \cdot \theta,\; -\beta \cdot \varphi_{\min}\right) & \text{otherwise} \end{cases}$$

Expiration Penalty (λ)

$$\lambda = \min\left(\frac{\max(\Delta\tau,\, 0)}{\lambda_d},\, 1\right)$$

λ is 0 when the domain has no certificate valid on the scoring date.

Final Score

$$\text{Score} = \left\lceil \min\left(\max\left((\beta \cdot \varepsilon + \varphi) \cdot \lambda,\, 0\right),\, 800\right) \right\rceil$$

GET https://api.discolike.com/v1/score

Parameters

Parameter	Description
domain	Domain to investigate.

Response Fields

Field	Format	Description
domain	String	Normalized domain name (excluding any subdomain).
score	Unsigned Int32	Final calculated score.
first_event	Date (YYYY-MM-DD)	Date of first registration event.
confidence	Decimal (1,2)	Confidence score for classification label.
parameters	Array[ParameterObjects]	Set of calculation parameters as described in the parameters section.
base_score	Decimal (3,2)	The baseline score for the domain provided over 10 years (β).
recency_multiplier	Decimal(1,2)	Decreases score in case of all company certificates were created in the current year (ε).
growth_boost	Decimal(3,2)	Increases score if the number of certificates opened in the last 360 days is greater than those opened 2 years before, decreases it if vice versa. Never below -base_score / 2 (φ).
expiration_penalty	Decimal(1,2)	Ramps from 1 to 0 across the final λd days of certificate validity; 0 when no certificate is valid on the scoring date (λ).
lookback_360	Unsigned Int32	Number of certificates generated in the past 360 days (Ω360).
lookback_720	Unsigned Int32	Number of certificates generated between 720 and 360 days (Ω720).

Examples

Request

curl "https://api.discolike.com/v1/score?domain=acmecorp.com" \
  -H "x-discolike-key: API_KEY"

Response

{
  "domain": "acmecorp.com",
  "score": 658,
  "parameters": {
    "base_score": 700,
    "recency_multiplier": 1,
    "growth_boost": -42.78,
    "lookback_360": 14796,
    "lookback_720": 190199,
    "expiration_penalty": 1
  },
  "first_event": "2010-03-01"
}