There are two flavors of online advertising: search and display.

Some e-commerce brand owners embrace search but downplay or ignore display on the flawed I-don’t-click-on-display-ads-so-nobody-does theory.

Lost in this misperception is the research power of display: running campaigns on different networks, to different interest groups, to varied demographic segments yields a picture of your audiences that mere search can’t. The demographic and psychographic insights give you the opportunity to refine your targeting, sharpen your messaging, and even select offline ads to drive traffic efficiently.

It’s an information-rich feedback loop, so if your display campaigns are at breakeven, you’re way ahead. Adapt. Evolve.