IDNPlace

1. IDNTools.com is by far the second most important tool for an IDNer, the first being a membership at IDNForums.com .  Actually IDNTools is the best IDN  tool website that exists period.  IDNF is a forum so not really a tool.  I use IDNTools to check the daily drop list, the historical sales charts, and their new whois checker is awesome.  Note not all whois applications can handle IDNs.  A membership at IDNTools.com is a must (no affiliate link yet …..)

2. IDNF.com is a forum but a tremendous amount of information is available on the boards for free, a premium membership gives you access to other information as well.  Why did I include it as the #2 tool?  Because of the keyword lists posted in threads, the sales threads(use them to find other keywords or the same keyword in another extension), and the overall knowledge on the board.  hint I keep IDNF.com open in one window and Google open in another and search “site:idnforums.com” keyword. hint #2 check the old threads (2006 to 2008) on a slow day, great reading

3. Google Adwords Keyword Tool analyzes keyword search volume as well as the Estimated Avg. CPC, ie what advertisers are paying per click. hint use “exact” instead of “broad”.  hint#2 Actually not a hint just a cool thing about this tool is that Google will provide other keywords that relate in some way to your keyword. hint #3 When analyzing search data keep in the mind the number people that speak the language and level of Internet penetration in the native country.  A Chinese keyword would be expected to have a larger search value for a particular term than say that term in Thai or  Hebrew (assuming that the keyword is relevant for that culture or language)

4. Dynadot.  Why do I keep a registrar open at all times?  Well I like to check a term and then see if any other extensions are registered. So if a keyword catches my attention I then check to see if its available, if so are any other extensions taken.  If a lower extension is registered (ie good topic for a future post) I then consider who registered the term, how long has the lower extension been registered, and does it feel right, if so its no longer available

5. Excel.  My spreadsheet of choice.  I couldn’t imagine trying to IDN without a spreadsheet.  I would assume this goes without saying but I felt obliged to listed it.