.fi domains: rules, registration and SEO effects

A .fi domain is Finland’s country domain, and anyone in the world can register one through an approved registrar. For SEO, a .fi domain gives Google and Finnish users a strong signal that a site is meant for Finland. It doesn’t lift rankings by itself, though, and a new .fi domain starts with no link authority.

This guide covers the rules, how to register, what a .fi domain does for SEO, and how it compares with a /fi/ subfolder. It also covers what to do with the Finnish letters ä and ö in web addresses. It’s part of the wider guide to SEO in Finland.

What is a .fi domain and who runs it?

The .fi domain is Finland’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD), the two-letter ending assigned to a country. It’s managed by Traficom, the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency.

The rules come from the Act on Electronic Communications Services (chapter 21) and Traficom’s Domain Name Regulation M 68. The current version of the regulation came into force on 18 August 2025, replacing the 2016 version. The same regulation covers .ax, the domain of the Åland Islands.

Who can register a .fi domain?

Anyone can register a .fi domain: companies, organisations and private persons, in Finland or abroad. The requirement to be based in Finland was removed in September 2016. A foreign company doesn’t need a Finnish business ID or a local address to hold one.

Two rules apply to every holder:

• The name must be lawful. A .fi name must not infringe a protected name or trademark. Protected names include those in the Finnish Trade Register, the Finnish and EU trademark registers, and the names of public bodies.
• The holder is responsible. You must check the name yourself before registering. If it infringes an earlier protected name or trademark, Traficom can remove it at the request of the rights holder.

Names are otherwise assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

How to register a .fi domain

You register a .fi domain through a registrar, not directly with Traficom. A registrar (verkkotunnusvälittäjä) is a company approved to register names on behalf of customers. Many also sell hosting and email.

1. Check availability. Use Traficom’s fi-domain name search or a registrar’s search.
2. Check for conflicts. Search the Finnish and EU trademark registers and the Finnish Trade Register for the same or similar names.
3. Choose a registrar. Traficom publishes a searchable list of approved registrars. International registrars that support .fi work as well.
4. Register with correct holder details. The holder information must be accurate and kept up to date.
5. Point the domain to your hosting. Set the name servers, and enable DNSSEC if your registrar supports it. DNSSEC is a security extension that protects against forged address lookups.

What does a .fi domain cost?

Traficom charges registrars €12 per domain per year (VAT 0%). The fee rose from €9 in January 2026. Registrars add their own margin and services, so retail prices vary. Compare a few before you buy, and check the renewal price as well as the first-year price.

What names are allowed?

A .fi name must be 2 to 63 characters long. It can contain the letters a–z, the digits 0–9 and hyphens, plus å, ä, ö and Sami letters. A hyphen can’t be the first or last character.

Does a .fi domain help SEO in Finland?

A .fi domain helps Google understand that a site targets Finland, but it isn’t a ranking boost in itself. Google describes country domains as “a strong signal to both users and search engines that your site is explicitly intended for a certain country”.

What a .fi domain does

• Geotargeting. Google treats the site as aimed at Finland without further setup.
• Server location matters less. With a country domain, where the server sits is irrelevant for targeting, according to Google.
• User trust. Finnish users recognise .fi as local, which can improve click-through and conversion.
• Local links. Finnish site owners may be more willing to link to a site that looks Finnish.

What a .fi domain does not do

• It doesn’t rank a weak site. Content quality, relevance and links still decide rankings.
• It doesn’t replace Finnish content. An English site on a .fi domain is still an English site.
• It only targets one country. A .fi site is a poor base for reaching Sweden or Norway.

Google also looks at other signals: local addresses and phone numbers, local language and currency, and links from other local sites. Building those links is covered in the guide to link building in Finland.

.fi domain vs /fi/ subfolder for a Finland launch

Choose a .fi domain if Finland is a long-term market for you. Choose a /fi/ subfolder if you’re testing the market, or if your main domain is already strong. Both can rank in Finland when the content is in Finnish, and the technical setup is right.

When a .fi domain is the better choice

• Finland is a core market, and you’ll invest in it for years.
• Local trust matters in your sector, for example retail, finance or health.
• You have the budget to build links to a new domain.
• You want a clearly separate Finnish brand or site.

When a /fi/ subfolder is the better choice

• Your main domain already has strong links and rankings.
• You’re entering several countries at once and want one site to maintain.
• You want to test Finnish demand before committing.

A subfolder needs hreflang tags so Google shows the Finnish pages to Finnish users. The setup is explained in hreflang for Finland. Companies entering several Nordic countries can compare approaches in the guide to Nordic link building.

Can you use both?

Yes. A common setup is to run the site in a subfolder and also register the .fi domain, redirecting it to the Finnish section. That protects the brand name in Finland and keeps the option to move later.

How to handle ä and ö in domains and URLs

For most sites, the practical choice is to use web addresses without ä and ö, and to register the ä/ö version of the domain as a redirect. Finnish words often contain ä and ö, and both letters are allowed in .fi names, but they behave differently behind the scenes.

In the domain name

A domain with ä or ö is an internationalised domain name (IDN). Browsers show it normally, but technically it’s stored in an encoded form called Punycode, which starts with xn--. That causes two practical problems:

• Email. Addresses on an ä/ö domain don’t work reliably in all email systems.
• Sharing. When copied into some tools, the address appears in its encoded form, which looks untrustworthy.

Traficom recommends registering both the version with national characters and the version without. If your brand is Kesämökki, register kesamokki.fi and kesämökki.fi, then pick one as the main site and redirect the other.

In page addresses

In the part of the address after the domain, ä and ö are percent-encoded: /kesämökki/ becomes /kes%C3%A4m%C3%B6kki/. Google can read both forms. Its guidance says to use words in your audience’s language in URLs, and transliterated words where that applies.

Most Finnish sites replace ä with a and ö with o in page addresses, and WordPress does this automatically. The result is shorter and cleaner when shared. Whichever option you choose, use it consistently and don’t change existing addresses without redirects.

Replacing ä and ö in the address doesn’t affect how you use keywords on the page. Titles, headings and body text should always use correct Finnish spelling. See the guide to Finnish keyword research.

Pros and cons of a .fi domain

Common mistakes

• Skipping the trademark check. The holder is responsible, and an infringing name can be removed.
• Using incorrect holder details. Holder information must be accurate, or you risk losing the name.
• Choosing an ä/ö domain as the only domain. Register the plain version too.
• Expecting the domain to do the SEO. A .fi ending doesn’t replace Finnish content and links.
• Moving to .fi without redirects. Changing domains without 301 redirects loses rankings and links.
• Forgetting renewal. An expired name can be registered by someone else.
• Putting English content on a .fi domain. The domain signals Finland, but the content still decides which searches the site matches. See Finnish content localisation.

For businesses with a physical presence, a .fi domain works well together with local SEO in Finland.

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Frequently asked questions

Can a foreign company register a .fi domain?

Yes. Since September 2016, companies, organisations and private persons anywhere in the world can register a .fi domain through an approved registrar.

Do I need a .fi domain to rank in Finland?

No. A site on a .com domain can rank in Finland with Finnish content, correct hreflang tags and links from Finnish sites. A .fi domain makes the country targeting clear and builds trust with Finnish users.

How much does a .fi domain cost?

Traficom charges registrars €12 per year (VAT 0%) since January 2026. The price you pay depends on the registrar, so compare both first-year and renewal prices.

Should I use ä and ö in my domain name?

Register both versions if your brand contains ä or ö, and use the version without them as the main domain. Domains with ä and ö can cause problems with email and when the address is shared.

Is a .fi domain better than a /fi/ subfolder?

It depends on your plans. A .fi domain suits a long-term commitment to Finland. A subfolder suits testing the market, or a site with a strong existing domain.