Do words like 'vaccine' or 'covid' affect email deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus explains that deliverability has become complex, with spam filters becoming sophisticated. Sender reputation, email authentication and engagement metrics are key for reaching inboxes.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that while content is important, focusing solely on keywords is not the key to deliverability. They suggest prioritizing recipient engagement and list hygiene.
Marketer from Email Geeks says that actual, large scale spam filters or reputation engines don’t care about specific words.
Email marketer from Email on Acid indicates content should be one of many considerations. To improve email deliverability, ensure subscribers are engaged and lists are clean.
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog explains that 'spam trigger words' aren't the direct cause of deliverability issues, but rather a symptom of other problems such as poor sender reputation and low engagement. They advise focusing on building a healthy sender reputation and providing value to subscribers.
Email marketer from Gmass explains that spam filters look at various characteristics. Factors, such as sender reputation, authentication and engagement are important. The presence of specific words is unlikely to trigger a spam filter alone.
Email marketer from Constant Contact Blog answers that spam filters have become more sophisticated and focus on various factors beyond just keywords, including sender reputation, authentication, and engagement metrics. They recommend focusing on building a strong sender reputation and following email best practices.
Email marketer from Reddit /r/EmailMarketing shares that the presence of specific keywords like 'vaccine' or 'covid' alone is unlikely to drastically affect deliverability unless other factors are already negatively impacting the sender's reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares a case where a municipal authority blocked inbound messages with the word "covid" due to previous scam emails, hindering their health insurance provider's communication about employee vaccination benefits.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that what usually matters is who is sending and what recipients think about it, and how the sender treats negative signals.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that manual or custom filters on the receiver's side (including tenants or IT departments) can have an impact, as users and some admins might still do "stupid things".
Email marketer from EmailToolTester responds that email service providers consider several factors when determining deliverability. Building a good sender reputation and ensuring subscribers want your emails is important.
Email marketer from StackExchange answers that focusing on avoiding specific words is less effective than focusing on building a strong sender reputation and ensuring your emails are wanted by recipients. They emphasize the importance of consent and engagement.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from wordtothewise.com explains that while specific words can trigger filters, the larger issue is often a low inbox placement rate. If a sender has a good reputation, using words like 'covid' is less likely to be a problem. Focusing on good sending practices is important.
Expert from Email Geeks shares an example of a company that blocked Viagra, even when an executive couldn’t get email from his wife reminding him to pick up a prescription.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft explains that their SmartScreen Filter analyzes various signals, including content, sender reputation, and user feedback, to identify spam. They recommend focusing on sending relevant and wanted content, maintaining a clean mailing list, and authenticating emails properly.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that Google's spam filters consider numerous factors, including sender reputation, user complaints, and email authentication. They advise focusing on building a positive sender reputation by sending wanted mail and following best practices.
Documentation from RFC (Request for Comments) states email standards focus on technical aspects like email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to verify the sender's identity. Proper authentication helps improve deliverability by confirming the sender is legitimate.
Documentation from Sparkpost explains that modern spam filters evaluate several factors, including IP address reputation, engagement metrics, and email authentication. They recommend focusing on building a strong sender reputation.