What can be verified by SSL certificates (how are the SSL certificates different from other certificates)?

Some certificates can only verify registrant rights (i.e., validate a domain).

These are DV (Domain Validation) certificates.

DV certificates confirm that the user is indeed visiting the website which address is shown in the address bar (i.e., that the user has not been redirected to a fake website).

However, DV certificates do not contain information about the website's owner, since certificate buyers do not have to provide documents confirming their identity.

This is due to the fact that, in order to obtain a certificate, its owner is not required to provide documentary evidence of its identification data.