Sasha Stanisavljevic is the Co-Founder of Domains Art

 

1. Sasha you’ve worked across naming, branding, and e-commerce—what role do you believe a strong brand name plays in converting online sales today?

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That’s a great question. I believe a strong and strategic brand name plays a crucial role in converting online sales and driving sales in general. It builds trust, signals reliability and helps customers connect with the brand on a deeper level. With the right name, a brand becomes more than just a product.

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There are literally millions of brands out there and the competition is more intense than ever. As a brand owner, your task is to stand out, and the name is often the first and most powerful opportunity to do so. If you get it wrong, the cost can be substantial.

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Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs underestimate this and don’t approach naming with enough strategy. By increasing awareness, I sincerely hope more founders will start to realize just how crucial a great strategic name actually is.

 

2. With your experience in the online sales industry, what were some effective tactics that helped drive conversions or reduce cart abandonment rates?

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Having worked in the online sales sector, I have discovered some strategies that are quite regularly successful in increasing conversions and lowering cart abandonments. Although industry will affect effectiveness, the following strategies have shown to be very helpful:

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- Streamlined Checkout Process: Reducing the number of steps required to complete a purchase significantly lowers drop-off rates. Prioritising your guest checkout will minimise form fields and enable auto-fill features which helps to speed up the process and reduce friction.

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- You can recover lost sales by using exit-intention popups that either remind users of their abandoned cart items or provide a minor discount.

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- Particularly in the last phases of the checkout process, displaying customer feedback, security badges and clear and flexible return policies can raise shopper confidence.

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- Consistent testing of product pages, call-to-action buttons, and layout variants lets us make data-driven judgments. Measurable increase in conversion rates often results from minor changes in copy or design.

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- Given that a lot of traffic comes from mobile devices, I always advise the importance of making sure the mobile experience from product discovery through to purchase is flawless, simple, and fast. 

 

3. Domains are often the first touchpoint in digital sales funnels. How do you choose domain names that don't just look good but also sell?

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As I mentioned earlier, a name must be strategic; it needs to resonate with potential customers on both a rational and emotional level.

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One example from my experience is a concept brand we developed called “Northorious.” The name is a fusion of North and Notorious, created for a high-performance extreme sports gear brand. The response during validation was overwhelmingly positive as 80% of respondents said they loved the name and would consider supporting the brand.

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This is a strong example of how a carefully crafted, strategic name aligns with the brand’s personality and audience and can immediately generate interest, build emotional connection and ultimately contribute to a stronger digital sales performance.

 

4. Having built and supported multiple startups, how important is digital trust in the first few seconds of an online shopping experience—and how can naming and branding help build that trust?

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The digital world is unfortunately saturated with scams and fraudulent activities that has made many users increasingly cautious. Most of us have experienced that moment of hesitation when landing on an unfamiliar website. The first few seconds of an online shopping experience are critical. If a visitor doesn’t feel safe or if the environment doesn’t feel trustworthy, they’re likely to click the 'X' in the corner of their screen and never return.

 

One of the most powerful ways to establish immediate trust is by choosing a strong, strategic brand name paired with a matching domain. While some industry professionals encourage clients to compromise on domain names, I take the opposite view: if you’re serious about your business, securing the exact-match domain is not optional - it’s essential.

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I’m passionate about educating entrepreneurs on this issue because it directly impacts digital performance, trust and discoverability. 

 

5. Tell us about a time when a naming decision directly influenced online sales results or click-through rates for a business.

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The first naming decision that comes to mind and arguably one of the most successful rebrands in history - dates back to 1898. While it's not directly linked to online sales (for obvious reasons 😊), it illustrates the long-term impact a strategic name can have on brand growth.

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After five years of trading under the name Brad’s Drink, the company rebranded to Pepsi-Cola (later Pepsi) which is now one of the most iconic beverage brands in the world. Although we don’t have precise sales data from that time, it's well documented that the company experienced significant growth in the years following the rebrand.

 

The new name was far more strategic. It aligned the product with consumer perceptions of health and vitality, making it feel more purposeful, desirable and memorable. This change in positioning, driven largely by the name, played a key role in transforming a local soda into a globally recognised brand.

 

6. What are the most overlooked branding mistakes that harm digital sales performance, especially for new businesses launching digital products or services?

 

That’s a really important question. I know I’ve touched on this before, but it’s worth repeating as one of the most overlooked branding mistakes that directly harms digital sales performance. This is when you choose a weak or non-strategic brand name - a name that’s difficult to pronounce, spell, or remember can seriously hinder discoverability.

 

This is especially the case in search and paid advertising. I’ve seen great products underperform simply because the name lacked clarity or emotional relevance. If users don’t “get it” in a second, they won’t click.

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Another major issue is inconsistent brand identity across platforms. Many new businesses rush their launch with disjointed visuals or mixed messaging between their website, social channels and ads. This lacks consistency, undermines trust and slows down conversions.

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A third critical mistake which I’ve also mentioned previously is undervaluing domain relevance. Start-ups often choose a brand name without securing the matching domain, leading to confusion, split traffic and weaker SEO performance. A clean, matching domain not only improves discoverability, but also reinforces trust. It should be seen as a necessity rather than a nice-to-have feature.

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Finally, many businesses skip the essential groundwork of brand strategy altogether. They launch without clearly defining their positioning, tone of voice, or customer promise which makes it much harder to emotionally connect with their audience or stand out in a saturated market. The truth is, even if your product is objectively better than the competition, without consistent branding efforts, your digital sales performance will suffer.

 

7. Do you believe product names or company names play a bigger role in e-commerce success—or is it more about the synergy between the two?

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While both are important, I’d say it’s around 60% company name and 40% product name, especially in the context of long-term e-commerce success.

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A strong company name lays the groundwork for trust, recognition and brand loyalty. It’s what people remember, share and search for. When the company name is strategically chosen - which is memorable, meaningful and supported by consistent branding - it elevates the impact of every product under that brand. 

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That said, product names play a vital role in discovery and conversion, especially in search results, ad copy and category listings. They must be clear, relevant and aligned with customer intent. However, without a strong, recognisable company name behind them, even the best-named products can struggle to convert or foster loyalty.

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So while I believe in the importance of synergy between the two, in my experience, the company name holds slightly more weight, especially if you're thinking beyond the first sale and aiming to build a lasting, trusted brand.

 

8. What interesting digital trends or patterns are you seeing around direct-to-consumer branding that online business owners should be preparing for now and addressing in future?

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There’s a clear shift taking place towards community-first branding. Today, DTC brands are expected to offer more than just products, they’re building spaces where people feel a sense of belonging. This is particularly true for Gen Z and younger millennials, who value connection, identity and shared purpose.

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Another key trend is the growing demand for brand transparency and humanisation. Consumers are increasingly sceptical of overly polished or generic messaging. They want to know who is behind the product, what the brand stands for and how it’s made. Brands that are led by visible founders and guided by clear values are gaining a real competitive advantage in the market.

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And lastly, I’d highlight the rise of modular brand systems. Modern DTC brands must be agile and operate across a wide range of platforms from TikTok and Amazon to email, mobile and beyond. The most successful brands are those built flexibly, able to adapt their messaging and visual identity to different formats and audiences without losing their overall brand coherence.