Tying an online ad or piece of email marketing directly to a customized landing page that acknowledges the communication and has a specific call to action can improve lift by 40% and is a necessity for marketers, according to a survey by CrownPeak.

However, the survey also shows that a majority of marketers still do not take the basic step to link their communication with relevant landing pages, and are missing out on a wealth of post-click analytical data, not to mention sales.

The recently-released "Holiday PPC Ad Strategies" study found that 66% of holiday-themed online search advertising drives traffic to a home page or some other landing page that is not obviously tied to the online ad, thus confusing or annoying potential shoppers. Only 34% of the holiday-themed search-engine ads analyzed in the study directed traffic to specific landing pages that urged shoppers to buy, or were otherwise reflective of the original ad.

Told ya so ;-)