How can I improve my Spam Complaint Level (SCL) on Outlook?

Summary

Improving your Spam Complaint Level (SCL) on Outlook involves a multi-faceted approach focusing on permission-based marketing, email authentication, content relevance, and technical best practices. Securing active consent through confirmed or double opt-in processes ensures that recipients genuinely want to receive your emails. Maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive subscribers and managing feedback loops (FBLs) from junk mail reporting (JMR) helps improve engagement and sender reputation. Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC enhances email authentication, protecting against spoofing and phishing. Creating valuable, relevant content while avoiding spam triggers and URL shorteners is critical. Finally, ensuring emails are mobile-responsive and gradually increasing sending volume during IP warming are key technical considerations for establishing a positive sender reputation and avoiding being flagged as spam.

Key findings

  • Opt-In is Crucial: Confirmed or double opt-in processes are essential for building a recipient list of genuinely interested subscribers, directly reducing spam complaints.
  • List Hygiene Matters: Regularly cleaning your email list and managing feedback loops (FBLs) maintains high engagement and a positive sender reputation.
  • Authentication is Key: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is vital for verifying your domain, protecting against spoofing, and enhancing email authentication.
  • Content Quality Influences SCL: Creating valuable and relevant content while avoiding spam triggers and URL shorteners significantly improves your sender reputation and reduces spam complaints.
  • Technical Details Impact Deliverability: Ensuring emails are mobile-responsive and gradually increasing sending volume during IP warming are crucial for establishing a positive sender reputation and avoiding spam filters.
  • Sender Reputation drives SCL: Sender reputation is a critical factor in SCL, and positive sender reputation can be maintained through list hygiene, sending wanted mail, and authentication.

Key considerations

  • Gain Explicit Consent: Prioritize obtaining explicit consent from subscribers to practice permission-based marketing effectively.
  • Segment Your Audience: Tailor content to specific segments to ensure relevance and increase engagement.
  • Implement Authentication: Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly and monitor their performance regularly.
  • Monitor Feedback Loops: Actively monitor and address complaints received through feedback loops to identify and resolve issues.
  • Test Before Sending: Always test your emails for spam triggers and mobile responsiveness before sending to large audiences.
  • Warm Up New IPs: Gradually increase your sending volume when using new IP addresses to establish a positive reputation with ISPs.
  • Configure Outlook Filters: Understand the settings of Outlook's junk email filters to customise how emails are managed

What email marketers say
9Marketer opinions

To improve your Spam Complaint Level (SCL) on Outlook, the consensus emphasizes the importance of permission-based marketing, starting with confirmed or double opt-in processes to ensure genuine subscriber interest. Creating valuable and relevant content, while avoiding spam triggers and excessive frequency, also plays a crucial role. Furthermore, maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive subscribers, testing emails for spam triggers, avoiding URL shorteners, and ensuring mobile responsiveness are vital steps in improving engagement rates, sender reputation, and overall deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Opt-in Methods: Confirmed or double opt-in processes are critical for ensuring only genuinely interested subscribers are added to your list, reducing spam complaints.
  • Content Relevance: Creating valuable and relevant content, while avoiding spam trigger words and excessive sending frequency, is essential for improving sender reputation.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list by removing inactive subscribers and bounced email addresses improves engagement rates and prevents being marked as spam.
  • Technical Elements: Testing emails for spam triggers, avoiding URL shorteners, and ensuring mobile responsiveness are technical factors impacting deliverability and reducing spam complaints.

Key considerations

  • Permission: Always obtain explicit consent before sending emails to practice permission-based marketing effectively.
  • Value: Prioritize delivering valuable and relevant content that meets your subscribers' expectations.
  • Testing: Implement thorough testing processes to identify and address potential spam triggers before sending emails.
  • Maintenance: Establish a routine for cleaning and maintaining your email list to ensure high engagement and deliverability.
  • User Experience: Ensure that your emails are mobile-responsive to provide a seamless viewing experience across all devices.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that to reduce spam complaints, you should ensure subscribers have genuinely opted-in, make unsubscribing easy, segment your audience, and send relevant content to the correct recipients.

September 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email on Acid shares to ensure your emails are mobile-responsive and provide a seamless viewing experience across different devices. Non-responsive emails can negatively impact user engagement and increase spam complaints.

February 2022 - Email on Acid
Marketer view

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares to regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers and bounced email addresses. This improves engagement rates and keeps you off the spam list.

October 2022 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit recommends always practicing permission-based marketing by getting explicit consent before sending emails. This shows recipients opted-in improving sender reputation.

September 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares that before sending, test your emails using tools to identify potential spam triggers in your content, subject lines, and code. Address these issues to lower your spam score.

March 2022 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass explains to avoid using URL shorteners in your emails, as they are often flagged as suspicious by spam filters. Use the full, direct URL of the landing page instead.

June 2022 - Gmass
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks answers that the issue is with those who didn't confirm their opt-in, so the tip is to use confirmed opt-in.

October 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that to improve your sender reputation, you must consistently send valuable content that your subscribers want, avoid using spam trigger words, and monitor your sending frequency to prevent overwhelming your audience.

January 2023 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot shares that using a double opt-in process is a critical step to ensure only genuinely interested subscribers are added to your list, reducing the chances of spam complaints and improving overall deliverability.

September 2023 - HubSpot

What the experts say
6Expert opinions

Improving your Spam Complaint Level (SCL) on Outlook involves focusing on active opt-ins to ensure recipients want your mail, maintaining clean data by removing feedback loop (FBL) reports from junk mail reporting (JMR), and nurturing a positive sender reputation. This includes sending desired content and practicing good list hygiene. Monitoring complaint feedback loops helps identify and address problematic campaigns, while gradually increasing sending volume during IP warming establishes a positive sender reputation with ISPs.

Key opinions

  • Active Opt-In: Sending only to users who have actively opted-in reduces the likelihood of spam complaints.
  • Data Hygiene: Cleaning data by removing FBL reports from JMR improves deliverability.
  • Sender Reputation: Maintaining a positive sender reputation through wanted content and good list hygiene is crucial for SCL.
  • Feedback Loops: Monitoring complaint feedback loops helps understand and address issues causing complaints.
  • IP Warming: Gradually increasing sending volume during IP warming establishes a positive sender reputation.

Key considerations

  • Consent: Always ensure users have actively opted-in before sending emails.
  • Monitoring: Regularly monitor and address complaint feedback loops.
  • Data Quality: Implement processes to maintain clean and accurate data.
  • Reputation Management: Actively manage your sender reputation by sending relevant and wanted content.
  • Gradual Increase: When using new IP addresses, gradually increase sending volume to avoid being flagged as spam.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that FBL is feed back loop and JMR is junk mail reporting.

January 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spamresource.com explains that your sender reputation is a critical factor influencing your SCL. Maintaining a positive sender reputation involves sending wanted mail, and good list hygiene.

December 2023 - Spamresource.com
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares to keep your data clean by removing any FBLs that come in through the JMR program.

January 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains to only send to people who have actively opted in, making sure recipients don't mark your mail as spam because they don't want it.

July 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Wordtothewise.com shares that implementing and monitoring complaint feedback loops (FBLs) helps understand which campaigns are generating complaints and allows for quick action to be taken to improve content and targeting.

January 2023 - Wordtothewise.com
Expert view

Expert from Wordtothewise.com explains that gradually increasing your sending volume (IP warming) is important when using new IP addresses, to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs and avoid being flagged as a spammer.

August 2024 - Wordtothewise.com

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Improving your Spam Complaint Level (SCL) on Outlook involves understanding and configuring junk email filter settings within Outlook, implementing best practices like confirmed opt-in and maintaining a clean mailing list, and authenticating emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. DKIM verifies the domain name associated with messages through cryptographic signing, while DMARC helps protect against spoofing and phishing, thereby enhancing email authentication and sender reputation.

Key findings

  • Outlook Configuration: Understanding and configuring junk email filter settings in Outlook helps manage and improve SCL.
  • Email Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC improves email authentication and reduces the likelihood of being marked as spam.
  • Best Practices: Following best practices such as confirmed opt-in and maintaining a clean mailing list enhances sender reputation.
  • DKIM Verification: DKIM provides a method for verifying the domain name associated with a message through cryptographic signing.
  • DMARC Protection: Implementing a DMARC policy helps protect against email spoofing and phishing attacks.

Key considerations

  • Configuration: Configure Outlook's junk email filter settings to suit your needs.
  • Authentication Standards: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for enhanced email authentication.
  • Mailing List Hygiene: Regularly clean your mailing list to improve deliverability and engagement.
  • DKIM Implementation: Ensure proper implementation of DKIM to verify the domain name associated with messages.
  • DMARC Policy: Set up and monitor a DMARC policy to protect against email spoofing and phishing.
Technical article

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing a DMARC policy and monitoring the reports, helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks. This also helps improve your email authentication and sender reputation.

May 2022 - DMARC.org
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus explains that implementing best practices such as using confirmed opt-in, authenticating your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and maintaining a clean mailing list can improve your sender reputation and reduce the likelihood of being marked as spam.

March 2021 - Spamhaus
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that DKIM provides a method for verifying the domain name associated with a message, which is cryptographically signed by the sending domain owner. This helps improve email authentication and reduces the likelihood of being marked as spam.

February 2024 - RFC
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that understanding and configuring junk email filter settings in Outlook can help manage and improve SCL by allowing users to customize the level of protection and block unwanted senders.

December 2022 - Microsoft Support