My client has a 17 letter domain (inclusive of a dash). I have just arranged for them to procure a 2 letter domain. That two letter domain is now...

Hi, I'm Dave Keys, real estate SEO expert. The length of a domain has little to do with SEO and website ranking performance. I'll elaborate in a moment...

I'll refer you to SEOMoz 2011 ranking factors survey. SEOMoz is perhaps the world leading authority on assessing the factors that correlate with higher performance in search results. The only substantial factor noted for the domain name is keyword relevance in the domain name. Keywords in the domain name have been reported to have a whopping 11% of influence of all factors. While this doesn't mean naming a website davesrolexwatches.biz will get you ahead of melrosejewelers.com, it will likely get you ahead of another site that has other ranking factors roughly equivalent to your own.

There are cases when a 2 letter or 3 letter domain can give your client an advantage. This is more indirect but important. If your domain is im.in and you brand I'm in. as the mnemonic to associate with im.in then you may generate traffic and ranking advantage at the same time but if your two letter domain is ty.in and the business is lawnmower repair, there's really no advantage because who will remember to go to http://ty.in? You'd be better off by far with mikeslawnmowerservice.com.

Please let me know if this answer satisfies your needs or if you still have unanswered concerns.

Thanks!

I'll agree with Dave here. There's a reason O.co redirects to Overstock.com. Vanity URLs are excellent for radio, TV, and can be especially useful for per-per-click ads, since you can add more keywords into the display URL.

Google still highlights keywords in their search results that match the query, even in the URL. When a user sees their keywords in the title, description and URL, the trifecta result is greater relevancy. Greater relevancy may improve your click-through-rate (CTR), a major ranking signal in paid, natural, and local search results.

I'm also a fan of brand names versus keyword domains. MikesLawncare.com might actually be a better domain than lawnmowerserviceinlosangeles.com, as it is less spammy, used on business cards and shared via word of mouth with happy customers. Stick with the brand name and you can never go wrong (long term).

I'd recognize that avatar anywhere. :)

I haven't heard back from you so I thought I'd follow-up.

Hope you found my answer helpful? So that I get credit for helping you, please accept my answer by clicking the green 'Accept Answer' button below my first response. See you soon D.A.!