What browsers support IDN names today?

Only the latest version of Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2 support IDN Names directly entered into the browser.

IE6 and earlier versions will not support IDN's.

What TLD's or ccTLD's support IDN?

First of all what I am saying with that question is what extensions can be registered like and IDN.
Here is a list of the ones that I have registered:

.com
.net
.tv
.cc
.jp = Japan
.cn = China
.de = Germany
.gr = Greece
.tw = Taiwan

Do all Registrars support IDN registrations?

No, as of writing this Enom.com does and so does Domainsite.com There are others that do but most do not. Please check with your registrar BEFORE you register any or you will get stuck with a long name that has no value whosoever.

What IDN's should you register?

You should use the same principles that you have learnt while registering English domain names. Go after the higher paying ppc terms first. Make sure if there are more than one way to say a word in any language that you get them all as you never know which ones will have the most traffic. I have registered quite a few dual meaning words and it's never the one I think that has the most traffic.

Most IDN's with Google over 1 million will have some traffic unless you get ridiculous generic terms like 'the' – which have no value whatsoever.

Also, as with English domains, dig a bit deeper. If loans is taken in the language you want go for things like home loans, car loans, boat loans and so on.

How to find and register IDN's?

There are many ways to find and register IDN domain names. The best way is obviously if you speak the language but even then you must be careful. Just like in English some common words will not actually be used and a short form may be used. In English most people know the word automobile but rarely would use it. Most would use the word car.

This can be illustrated by the two overture scores:

1572 automobile.com

18016 car.com

Now this does not mean automobile is not a good IDN to register, it just means go after the one that is more likely to be typed in a browser.

Now if you don't know anyone that speaks a language you are going after, your only choice is to use a good translator software, I suggest you use logos.it

When you enter a word it gives you results in multiple languages at one time and makes it really easy to get a keyword in multiple languages.

I have found that just like domains, the one I think will get the most traffic, surprisingly won't, but the languages I have never heard of get some traffic.

Now let's see how you go about registering IDN names:

Let's go to logos.it and look up the Russian word for weasel as an example. Take that word and so now I go download the IDN Domain Conversion Tool located at dnforum.com under the tools menu, then open it up and paste the russian word into the space under the heading IDN Domains and hit the ok button. You will get a code called a PUNY code which is: xn—80aa3ac5a, then take that and add a .com on it and you will end up with this xn—80aa3ac5a.com. Now check a whois or try to register xn—80aa3ac5a.com and see if you get it. To keep it organized and try to keep my domains in one place I register most of my IDNs at Enom. There are other choices if you like. You can take the actual ID code and go to and type in the IDN and it will tell you if it's available without doing the PUNY conversion but you should know how to do it anyways.

If I find an IDN like xn—f9b5b1c6b7k should I register .com or .cn or both?

This really depends on how strong the term is, if it's a great term and you have the $, by all mans register them both. If you don't my suggestion is get the .com. You will need to do some research here as every country operates differently. Some countries are big on their ccTLD's while others go for the .com first and only if that's taken will grab their ccTLD after that.

Personally, I have been registering the .com's and if it's a great term I get the ccTLD for that country if its available.

To learn more about IDN Names visit the Domain Name Forum where all the domain experts hang out and chat.

Are all the good IDN names taken?

Absolutely not, take your time and do some mining and you will find gold in them mountains.

Remember don't expect miracles from IDN domains now, the miracles will come once most of the world has a browser that can support it.

Should you expect to make $ from your IDN's now?

No, if you are lucky you will have a few that make something. I have registered thousands of these and at least half have traffic so that's good enough for me to know the future will be great for these. Be patient they will be worth it in the long run.

Is there anything else I should know about IDN's?

Yes, there is lots more, please take the time to learn about Domain Names and feel free to ask and post your questions as there are many IDN experts at dnforum.com and they will usually answer you within a few minutes.

I hope this helps some of you get started in what should be an interesting area of domains.