By Ron Jackson
Editor/Publisher

ICANN accredited registrar Encirca.com has opened .pro registrations up to a much wider audience with new moves that have cut the high cost and heavy restrictions previously associated with the extension. Since the .pro registry opened in 2004, .pro domains have been available only to doctors, lawyers, accountants and engineers in four countries (the U.S., Canada, the UK and Germany). In addition you could not get a second level domain (for example law.pro) unless you first registered two third level domains (like labor.law.pro and corporate.law.pro). As a further deterrent, registration costs ranged from $200-$500.

Effective March 2, Encirca changed all of that by opening second level .pro registrations to all small businesses and independent consultants worldwide with no need to register third level names. In addition, the registrar has slashed the first year registration fee to $49 through March 31. After that time, the fee will be $99 which will also be the annual renewal fee. The changes could be just the antidote needed to cure the slow adoption of .pro space caused by all of the roadblocks to registrations in the TLD.

Many strong one-word domains are available for professionals looking for keyword alternatives to .com. Encirca President Tom Barrett said �search engine rankings reward domain names that contain keywords being searched.  Small business professionals have not been able to competitively market themselves in the .com realm, but with EnCirca�s new .pro service, these firms can get a memorable Web address, like www.loans.pro, at a low price that carries the same online �weight� as a .com designation.�

Encirca, who was already the leading .pro registrar, is currently the only registrar offering the revised .pro program. To take advantage of the features offered domains will have to be managed through Encirca nameservers and in the WhoIs record their information will appear in all contact fields except the Admin contact which will contain the domain registrant�s information. These restrictions are required to allow Encirca to meet the underlying requirements of the .pro registry while still opening the extension to the full universe of people offering professional services. You will still be able to host your domains wherever you wish, using A and CNAME records rather than a nameserver change to direct the domains.

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