Still trying to find a domain I like and have started to debate the idea of using an anagram for the domain to get around a long URL while staying with a name I like. Would this effect the SEO potential or be hard for people to remember?

I mean Linens-n-Things has both linensnthings.com and lnt.com, but does one come out as the better choice if you can't get both?

Well, I would say one would be more likely to find the linensnthings website by using the entire name rather than an anagram. I guess an anagram would be ok if it was really catchy and memorable. But I would rather have the entire name if it was available.

I think it's going to depend on what the name actually is. Linensnthings has much greater potentional than lnt does, but had they marketed their site as LNT from the get-go, they may have survived. When it comes to traffic from direct links, that domain doesn't mean much....but it means quite a bit for SEO and memory purposes. If you find that your best option is to go with the initials instead of the long name, then brand yourself with that anagram from the beginning so people start becoming familiar with it.

I always prefer my site names to be spelled out, since anagrams often come off as more than a little bit tacky. While I certainly shouldn't tell you what to do, I would advise against an acronym unless it's memorable enough.

More often than not, they end up looking pretty dumb though

As mentioned in another thread many TV/radio stations use anagrams pretty reliably. I am wondering if this is just because we hear them all the time or if they really are easier to understand. I've decided my "perfect domain" would sound icky as an anagram anyway. Still searching.

I really think it's because we hear them so often. It becomes branded in our minds, so we remember the acronyms instead of the lengthy name (or in the case of radio stations, their "name" is either the initials or something completely different). I think if Amazon started calling itself AMZ or an unrelated BCNW, most people wouldn't remember it.....and they'd have to completely re-brand themselves as those letters.

And best of luck finding that "perfect name" for yourself.