How can I unblock or improve my domain reputation with Gmail when emails are being blocked due to low reputation?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit shares insights on why Gmail might block emails even with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC in place. He stresses the importance of content quality, sender reputation, and user engagement signals for Gmail's filtering algorithms.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares tips on boosting sender reputation by focusing on subscriber engagement, segmenting audiences based on activity, and sending targeted content that resonates with each segment.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign suggests leveraging email automation to send personalized and timely messages, nurture leads, and build relationships with subscribers, which can lead to higher engagement rates and improved deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares advice on regaining domain reputation, recommending checking Google Postmaster Tools, reducing daily volume to engaged users, focusing on quality, and pausing sending if necessary to allow the domain to cooldown before gradually warming up.
Email marketer from Litmus recommends segmenting email lists based on demographics, purchase history, or engagement level, and tailoring content to each segment to improve engagement and sender reputation.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's blog shares the importance of consistent sending volume, engaging with subscribers through valuable content, and actively removing inactive subscribers to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
Email marketer from Gmass shares the benefits of the Google Postmaster Tools and the importance of ensuring that spam rates are as low as possible. Advices on looking into dedicated IPs and authenticating your domains through the appropriate DNS settings.
Email marketer from Sendinblue advocates for regularly cleaning email lists by removing inactive subscribers and those who haven't engaged recently. This ensures better deliverability and a higher sender reputation with ISPs.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that you should look at a 'domain cooldown' period to neutralise its current reputation if a small volume of emails is being rejected
Email marketer from Email on Acid emphasizes the importance of testing email rendering across different email clients to ensure a consistent and positive user experience, which can indirectly affect sender reputation and deliverability.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains the need to check the 'spam reports' section within the Google Postmaster tools to see what users are reporting messages as, as well as reviewing the 'Feedback Loop' to see who is reporting.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource, John Levine, explains that avoiding Gmail spam filters involves sending mail that recipients want, authenticating email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, keeping spam complaints low, and following Gmail's sender guidelines.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that passing authentication isn't enough to avoid Gmail blocking. Mail must be wanted and come from IPs/domains without a bad reputation.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, shares the importance of list hygiene, including removing invalid email addresses, unsubscribing unengaged recipients, and ensuring the list is permission-based to maintain a positive sender reputation.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Postmark explains that warming up an IP address involves gradually increasing sending volume over time, monitoring deliverability rates, and adjusting sending practices based on feedback from ISPs to establish a positive sending reputation.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help advises to ensure that mail is authenticated using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They also emphasize maintaining a low spam rate and following Gmail's sender guidelines to improve sender reputation.
Documentation from Dmarc.org details how to implement and configure DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, enhancing trust with ISPs.
Documentation from RFC-Editor details how to correctly set up SPF records, including syntax, common mistakes, and implementation tips. It emphasizes the importance of accurate SPF records for email authentication and deliverability.