Before a certificate authority issues an SSL Certificate, they validate the information provided in the certificate request. The more complete the validation, the more site visitors trust the certificate.
Domain Validation: Validates domain is registered and someone with admin rights is aware of and approves the certificate request.
Organization Validation: Validates domain ownership, plus organization information included in the certificate (name, city, state, country).
Extended Validation: Validates domain ownership and organization information, plus legal existence of the organization and that the organization is aware of and approves the request.
