Did you know that every time you send an email, it gets a rating called “email reputation”? This rating helps platforms like Gmail and Outlook decide if the email goes to your main inbox.
Email started as a simple protocol (SMTP) in a university lab. Now, four billion people have email accounts. Sadly, some of these users send unwanted messages called spam. To tell the good emails from the bad ones, we created the idea of email reputation.
Providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo use their own algorithms to check an email’s reputation. The details of these algorithms are secret. However, Gmail shared some information about them in 2006.
Since then, the factors that affect email ranking have changed. The best practices now include these seven elements:
If you have a lot of unread emails in your inbox, check out here how to mark all emails as read in Gmail. On a side note, this will allow you to keep your inbox organized and focus on getting your reputation on the right track.
A very important factor for email reputation is authenticating the sender. This process checks if the sender’s domain is real. It also confirms that the email is not fake or changed.
The two main techniques for authentication are SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). SPF allows the receiving server to check that the email comes from an allowed server. DKIM uses digital signatures to make sure the email does not change during its travel.
Next forward: Check your SPF record.
The reputation of the IP address that sends the email is very important. It helps to decide if the email will be delivered. Email providers and special groups keep records of IP addresses and their reputations based on past sending actions. The Spamhaus Block List is one famous example.
An IP address that is linked to spam or harmful actions will have a lower reputation. This lower reputation causes emails from that address to be marked or blocked.
Step Forward: Check your IP address reputation or use a good email marketing platform that has a strong IP address reputation.
Email service providers look at the reputation of the domain name in the email address, too. They assess domain reputation by checking past sending patterns and the total quality of emails sent from that domain.
Like IP reputation, many databases keep track of domain reputations. They look at things like spam complaints, bounce rates, and engagement metrics for emails from that domain. A domain with a bad reputation can make it hard for its emails to be delivered, even if the sender’s IP address is good.
Step Forward: Make sure your domain does not have any reputation issues.
Email interaction indicators include email metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and spam reports. Email service providers use these metrics to know how effective and relevant your emails are.
High interaction levels show that recipients see your emails as useful. They are engaging with them. Low interaction may mean that the emails are unwanted or not relevant. Emails with low engagement are more likely to be marked as spam or sent to promotions or junk folders.
Here are some important metrics to track and ways to improve them:
Step forward: You should check and improve your email content.
The complaint frequency is important, too. The number of spam complaints against a sender can affect reputation. When someone marks an email as spam, it tells email services that they do not want those messages.
In 2022, Gmail said that the complaint rate is a big part of their email reputation system. This makes it very important to watch.
To keep complaint rates low, make sure people want to get your emails. They must opt in clearly. There should be an easy way to unsubscribe if they do not want to get emails anymore.
It is also important to have a clean and current email list for a good reputation. List hygiene is a practice. It means cleaning your email list often. You should remove contacts that are not active or who have unsubscribed. You must process unsubscribe requests quickly.
Step Forward: Look at your contact lists and update them.
The content of your emails matters. It affects how people see your email reputation. Email service providers use email spam filters. These filters check emails for things that look like spam.
You must not use too many capital letters in your emails. Also, do not use misleading subject lines. Avoid using too many images or spammy words. You should include a plain text version of your email. Personalizing your content can help deliverability, too.
Step Forward: Check your email content for spammy words.
Email service providers look at how many emails you send at one time. They check the number of emails sent in a certain period. Sending a lot of mass emails at once can hurt your email reputation. This is called bulk emailing or email blasts.
Instead of sending many emails altogether, send them out over time. This helps us use server resources better. It also stops overwhelming your recipients’ inboxes. This way, your emails have less chance of being marked as spam.
Step Forward: Learn how to space your email sends.
You need to track your email reputation. This helps you understand how providers see your sending habits. The algorithms of Gmail, Outlook, and others are not known. However, you can use tools to check your email reputation.
You can use the Spamhaus Reputation Checker. This is a free tool that gives quick feedback. You just need to enter your domain name to find any problems. If there are no problems, it means your email reputation is strong.
In July 2015, Google made Postmaster Tools. They help you see how people see your domain. This dashboard lets you check important things like spam rates and IP reputation. For example, we found a problem in our SPF record. We fixed the issue using the information from Postmaster Tools.
Postmaster Tools are free and easy to use. Remember that you can only see data after you add your domain. New users may not see results right away. Start to check your email reputation with these tools to help your emails go where they need to go.
If you use a Gmail account, Google may tell you about a bad change in your account’s reputation. You usually get this message if you send too many emails in one day.
Gmail allows up to 500 emails per day for personal accounts. Google Workspace accounts can send up to 2,000 emails each day. These limits are the most that you can send. Your limits can be lower if your email reputation is not good.
When you send too many emails, they will bounce back to you. If you get a warning when you send only a few emails, your email reputation is very low. Check out your Gmail daily email sending limit here.
Many tools can show you where your emails go in a recipient’s inbox. Most of these tools need a subscription. Some of them have free plans.
If your emails go to the main inbox, your reputation is good. But if they go to the spam folder, you need to fix your email reputation.
Sometimes, your emails can show up in the “Promotions” tab. Landing in this tab usually does not mean you have a bad email reputation. Gmail and other email providers use smart algorithms. These algorithms look at user preferences for where to place emails. They do not only consider your email reputation.
Your email reputation is not permanent. It changes based on how you send emails. If your email reputation drops, you can follow these steps to improve it:
First, check if you are on a blocklist. You can look for your domain on Blackhaus to see if it is blocklisted. If you use an email service like Mailchimp or Sendgrid, they can tell you about blocklists. Find the problem and fix it to prevent more issues.
If your reputation is low, you should send fewer emails. It is important to reduce your email volume. To rebuild trust, you can stop sending emails for a few days.
After your reputation gets better, you can email trusted people. These people can be friends or colleagues. You can also try using a warm-up tool, but the results vary. Some tools may help in certain situations. Here is a guide to the best warm-up tools available.
Evaluate your email content. Start by using a spam checker. After that, work on improving engagement. A low reputation often comes from emails that do not engage the people. Your emails need to encourage people. You want them to open, read, and respond. When people do not engage, it shows your content is not interesting.
Email providers like Gmail and Outlook check how users behave. They customize the user experience based on this. Because of this, spam filters are now personalized. Emails with little engagement can be marked as spam more easily.
Make your account look trustworthy. You should include a profile picture, a sender name, and a signature. These details seem simple, but they can help you reach the main inbox.
You should not send emails to inactive inboxes. High bounce rates can harm your email reputation. A clean and updated mailing list is very important for successful email campaigns.
When you send emails from personal domains like “@gmail.com” or “@yahoo.com,” you are more likely to be marked as spam. This can lower your delivery rates.
To build trust, you need to use a dedicated business email address to communicate with customers.
It is very important to maintain a healthy email reputation. This is critical for the success of your campaigns. Email service providers are always improving their systems to filter spam. Because of this, having a solid email reputation is now more important than before.
You can build a strong email reputation with consistent and high-quality content. It is important to respect your audience’s preferences, too. By following best practices and focusing on engaging your audience, you can improve your email reputation. This will help increase engagement rates and meet your marketing goals.
Email reputation can change over time. With the right strategies and effort, you can improve your reputation. You follow the tips in this guide. These tips will help you. They can increase the chance. Your emails go to your recipients’ primary inbox.
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