Some recent Nielsen research (via AdAge) shows that search may not be what’s driving the most traffic to retailer Web sites.  This study showed less than 10% of online retailers web traffic came from search, and more than 60% of site visits came from people going directly to a site.

A look at the top 50 search terms showed all but three were branded.  Take both of those things together, and it seems to say that people already have a pretty good idea of what Web site they’d like to go to when they get online.  Which means display ads continue to be relevant to build brand awareness so these consumers know where they want to go.

Search is important, and easy to track, unlike most display advertising.  And there isn’t information on keyword conversions that might show the sale that resulted from directly accessing a site really started with a search, but this data indicates brand-building display ads drive traffic.  So cancel the funeral, display ads aren’t dead quite yet.