Can a domain with poor reputation negatively affect other domains in Google Workspace?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Gmass explains that although domains are separate, interconnectedness exists within Workspace, meaning a damaged domain can reduce the deliverability of other domains on the same account.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares anecdotal evidence that Google may be cracking down on the practice of using Workspace for hosting multiple "outreach" domains.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that unless entirely separate businesses, there's often a connection between domains that ML algorithms can see.
Email marketer from SendPulse explains that a negative domain reputation can affect all domains within the same Google Workspace account, potentially leading to reduced deliverability and increased spam filtering.
Marketer from Email Geeks answers that the impact is possibly but it's impossible to answer further without more detailed information on what is observed.
Email marketer from StackExchange shares that the impact depends on the degree of separation. If domains are clearly distinct businesses with different practices, the impact is less; however, shared resources and content can create negative correlations.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Digital explains that a domain's reputation is crucial for deliverability and a poor reputation can impact all associated domains, including those in Google Workspace, by leading to emails being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Reddit states that it's possible, especially if the domains share similar sending patterns or content. Google's algorithms can identify related domains and apply reputation scores accordingly.
Email marketer from Litmus advises that maintaining positive sending practices across all domains is vital. Google’s algorithms analyze relationships between domains and a reputation hit will spread if domains aren't managed correctly.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester states that Google might correlate poor sending habits with an entire workspace. They recommend separating critical functions onto domains with dedicated good reputations.
Email marketer from Mailjet states that while each domain has its own reputation, shared infrastructure like Google Workspace means a very poor reputation on one domain can negatively influence others due to IP address and content filtering algorithms.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that he expects Google to mine any data they can get access to, but anyone outside Google probably doesn’t have easy access to the fact that the domains are related.
Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) explains that related domains within the same organization (like those in a Google Workspace) can influence each other's reputation, particularly if they exhibit similar sending patterns or share content. Google's systems can correlate these domains.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that if domains share an IP address, a poor sending reputation from one domain can negatively affect the deliverability of emails from other domains sharing that IP, even if the domains are otherwise unrelated in Google Workspace.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from AWS explains that when domains share resources, such as an IP address, a sending reputation impacts all domains. Though not Google Workspace, this highlights the importance of domain management.
Documentation from RFC explains that while RFC doesn't directly address Google Workspace, its outlining of email infrastructure indicates that if domains share resources or IPs, a reputation hit on one can propagate to others.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help advises that while Google isolates many factors, a domain-wide reputation issue can affect the deliverability of all accounts under that Workspace, especially if sending practices are similar.
Documentation from Microsoft Learn shares that a poor domain reputation can negatively impact email deliverability across all services utilizing that domain, implying that co-located services may also be affected, even if logically separate.
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that closely related domains sharing similar sending profiles may have correlated reputations, so one poorly managed domain can negatively affect others.