Are spam trigger word lists accurate and should I be concerned about them?

Summary

The consensus from experts, marketers, and official documentation is that focusing primarily on avoiding 'spam trigger words' is an outdated and largely ineffective approach to email deliverability. Modern spam filters employ sophisticated algorithms that analyze a multitude of factors, with sender reputation, authentication, user engagement, and the overall context and tone of the email being significantly more important. While content still matters, it's just one piece of the puzzle. Prioritizing these other elements will have a greater impact on inbox placement.

Key findings

  • Outdated Strategy: Relying heavily on spam trigger word lists is an outdated and ineffective strategy for achieving good email deliverability.
  • Sophisticated Algorithms: Modern spam filters use complex algorithms that go beyond simple keyword detection.
  • Reputation Matters Most: Sender reputation and IP reputation are crucial determinants of email deliverability.
  • Engagement is Key: User engagement with your emails (opens, clicks, replies) significantly impacts deliverability.
  • Holistic Approach: A holistic approach, focusing on sender reputation, authentication, engagement, and relevant content, is more effective than avoiding specific words.

Key considerations

  • Build a Strong Reputation: Prioritize building and maintaining a positive sender and IP reputation through consistent sending practices and good email hygiene.
  • Authenticate Your Emails: Implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to verify your sender identity and improve deliverability.
  • Focus on Engagement: Create compelling and engaging content that encourages users to interact with your emails.
  • Segment and Personalize: Segment your email list and personalize your messages to improve relevance and engagement.
  • Maintain List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers, reducing your bounce rate and improving your sender reputation.

What email marketers say
8Marketer opinions

The prevailing sentiment is that focusing solely on 'spam trigger words' is an outdated and ineffective approach to email deliverability. Modern spam filters rely on sophisticated algorithms that analyze a multitude of factors, including sender reputation, authentication, user engagement, and content context. While trigger words may still play a minor role, prioritizing overall email quality, providing value to subscribers, maintaining a clean email list, and building trust with recipients are significantly more important for ensuring emails reach the inbox.

Key opinions

  • Outdated Concept: The concept of 'spam trigger words' as a primary factor in spam filtering is largely outdated.
  • Holistic Approach: Modern spam filters use sophisticated algorithms that consider numerous factors beyond simple keywords.
  • Sender Reputation: Sender reputation and IP reputation are crucial for email deliverability.
  • Engagement Matters: User engagement with emails (opens, clicks, replies) significantly impacts deliverability.
  • Content Quality: Providing relevant, interesting, and personalized content is more effective than avoiding specific words.

Key considerations

  • Focus on Value: Prioritize providing value to subscribers through relevant and engaging content.
  • Build Trust: Establish trust with recipients by obtaining explicit permission to send emails.
  • Maintain List Hygiene: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers.
  • Authenticate Emails: Implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to verify sender identity.
  • Monitor Reputation: Actively monitor sender reputation and IP reputation to identify and address any issues.
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog responds that trigger words are part of the equation but not the only determinant. They advise marketers to focus on overall email marketing best practices, including personalization, segmentation, and deliverability.

February 2025 - HubSpot Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit user r/marketing explains that they generally ignore spam trigger word lists and concentrate on making sure they send personalised email to customers to increase engagement.

October 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit user r/emailmarketing says that a list of spam trigger words is not very important any more as deliverability has changed in recent years. They suggest it's more important to build up your sender reputation and IP reputation through warming and sending good quality emails.

February 2025 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog shares that focusing solely on avoiding trigger words is a simplistic approach. They suggest focusing on providing value to subscribers, using permission-based marketing, and maintaining a clean email list.

October 2024 - Sendinblue Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that while trigger words are a factor, they are not the be-all and end-all of spam filtering. They emphasize the importance of overall email quality, sender reputation, and authentication.

May 2022 - Mailjet Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackExchange user EmailGuru says that while trigger words are a factor, they are not the main determinant of whether an email goes to spam. Building trust with recipients is more important, getting them to engage with your emails, and moving you from the promotions tab back to the inbox.

October 2023 - StackExchange
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks states that there's no such thing as spam words and many people have not understood that yet.

October 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOversight explains that worrying about the use of trigger words is a waste of time as spam filters use machine learning and AI to understand the context and tone of an email. They recommend to focus on writing content that's relevant and interesting to the recipient.

August 2021 - EmailOversight

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Experts agree that focusing solely on 'spam trigger words' is an outdated and ineffective approach to email deliverability. Modern spam filters employ sophisticated algorithms that consider context, sender reputation, user engagement, and authentication. While content matters, it is only one component, and avoiding specific keywords is less impactful than establishing a good sender reputation and consistent sending practices.

Key opinions

  • Outdated Concept: Relying on 'spam trigger words' is an outdated and ineffective strategy.
  • Sophisticated Filters: Modern spam filters use complex algorithms beyond simple keyword detection.
  • Holistic Assessment: Spam filters evaluate a wide range of criteria, including sender reputation, authentication, and user engagement.
  • Content is a Component: Email content matters, but it's just one component of deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Sender Reputation: Prioritize building and maintaining a positive sender reputation.
  • Authentication: Implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
  • Consistent Practices: Establish consistent and responsible email sending practices.
  • Focus on Engagement: Encourage user engagement and build trust with your audience.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that spam filters do not simply block emails based on keywords alone. They evaluate a wide range of criteria. Reputation, authentication and subscriber engagement are key to inbox placement.

April 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that the content of your email matters, but it is only one component of your email’s deliverability. Authentication, reputation and consistent sending practices are also important.

January 2025 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that the list of 394 spam trigger words is likely a dump of the Spam Assassin rules list and that the words will only contribute to your spam score if you use 100 of them at once.

February 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks links to his article, stating his take on spam trigger words. The article is available here: <https://www.spamresource.com/2022/11/take-your-spam-trigger-words-and-go-away.html>

August 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that the concept of 'spam trigger words' is outdated and largely ineffective. Modern spam filters use sophisticated algorithms that analyze context, sender reputation, and user engagement, rather than relying on simple keyword detection.

July 2021 - Spam Resource

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Official documentation from Spamhaus, Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft, and RFC emphasizes that modern email filtering systems do not primarily rely on 'spam trigger words.' Instead, they focus on factors like sender reputation, authentication, network analysis, and overall sending behavior to identify and filter spam. Maintaining a strong sender reputation and adhering to email authentication standards are critical for deliverability.

Key findings

  • No Reliance on Keywords: Major spam filtering systems do not primarily rely on 'spam trigger words'.
  • Sender Reputation is Key: Sender reputation is a significant factor in email deliverability.
  • Complex Algorithms: Email filtering algorithms are complex and consider a wide range of factors.
  • Focus on Infrastructure: Spamhaus focuses on identifying spam servers, networks, and domains, not content.

Key considerations

  • Prioritize Reputation: Focus on building and maintaining a positive sender reputation.
  • Implement Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication.
  • Monitor Sending Behavior: Monitor your email sending practices to ensure compliance with best practices.
  • Understand Filtering: Understand that modern email filtering is complex and not based on simple keyword checks.
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that they make no reference to spam trigger words. They focus on how mail servers should operate to protect against spam by checking sender reputation, authentication and other mechanisms.

March 2023 - RFC-Editor
Technical article

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares that sender reputation plays a significant role in deliverability. While it doesn't directly address trigger words, it implies that a good sender reputation can outweigh the impact of a few potentially problematic words.

November 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus explains that they do not rely on 'spam trigger words' to identify spam. They focus on identifying spam servers/networks and domains and not the content in an email.

August 2023 - Spamhaus
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that email filtering algorithms are complex and consider a wide range of factors beyond just keywords. These factors include sender reputation, authentication, user engagement, and content characteristics.

November 2023 - Microsoft