Domain Name Registration & Transfer

NOTE: Below is advice on how to choose a domain name.

Register your domain name with pairNIC today!


Pricing * - as low as $13/year
Every Domain includes *

  • free Web and e-mail forwarding
  • free custom DNS
  • free change of ownership
  • free domain security features
  • free pairNIC parking page
* NOTICE: Subject to change. pairNIC will display the actual pricing and features prior to making you commit your registration.

Choosing the right domain name

When getting your Web site set up, one of the first and most important things you need to do is choose and then register your domain name. A well selected domain name is not only easy for your target audience to remember but will aid your Web site in achieving better search engine placement.

One of the best ways to choose a domain name is to work from your organization's name. For example: Western Maine Finishing became WesternMaineFinishing.com.

If you are just starting or re-branding your business, the naming of your business and choosing a domain name should go hand in hand. When choosing a name, make it descriptive of what your business does and try to include the most important key word(s) in the name. This may seem like common sense, but how many times have you seen companies name things like "ABC Enterprises" with the domain name "ABCEnterprises.com". This doesn't tell you a thing about the company and the domain name does nothing to improve search engine placement for the key words prospective customers would use to find the goods or services ABC Enterprises offers. This is actually one of the challenges we face with the domain name KLBProductions.com, which we choose back in 1997.

With all of this said, when choosing a domain name, make sure it is easy to remember and spell. You want to be able to tell your customers how to get to your website in person or over the phone without having to explain in detail. Avoid the use of hyphens and underscores and be careful of trademark infringement.

Should we .COM, .BIZ, .INFO, .NET, .ORG or .US?

In the beginning, the Top Level Domain (TLD) held great significance and you could tell a lot about a site by those two or three letters. Today it is much more convoluted, however, a properly chosen TLD can be an asset to your web site. The number of TLDs available is constantly expanding, however, there are still a core group that really matter and those are the ones we will cover.

COM - for commercial entities

.COM should be the TLD of choice for businesses and commercial endeavors. It is by far the most popular TLD and the one people are most familiar with. .COM is the abbreviation for commercial.

BIZ - for commercial entities

.BIZ another good TLD of choice for businesses and commercial endeavors. It is a good fall back TLD if the .COM of your choice is taken. BIZ is the abbreviation for business

INFO - for any site

.INFO is a newer TLDs and is for any Web site especially those of a non-commercial nature or whose purpose is simply to share ones ideas. .INFO is the abbreviation for information. The big problem with .INFO TLDs is that because they tend to be less expensive than other TLDs spammers like to use this TLD thus dot INFO has become associated with spam.

US - for United States based entities

.US is a good TLD choice for United States based entities where the country of origin or patriotism is important. It is also a good fall back TLD if the .COM, .BIZ or .INFO of your choice is taken. .US is the abbreviation for United States.

ORG - for noncommercial entities

.ORG should be the TLD of choice for non-profit and not-for-profit organizations, associations, etc. .ORG is the abbreviation for organization.

NET - for network infrastructure providers

.NET should be the TLD of choice for network infrastructure providers, Internet service providers, etc. .NET is often the secondary choice for individuals who can't get their domain name under .COM. However, .BIZ, .INFO or .US should be used instead. .NET is the abbreviation for network.