How can I validate email signups from unusual or new domains to avoid spam traps?

Summary

Validating email signups from unusual or new domains to avoid spam traps requires a multi-faceted approach, combining technical solutions, strategic processes, and continuous monitoring. One strategy is to implement a system where signups from less common domains undergo double opt-in (DOI). Utilizing email validation services and APIs like Mailgun, NeverBounce, and Hunter.io helps to identify typos, disposable email addresses, catch-all domains, and other risky indicators. These tools provide quality scores and deliverability risk assessments. A build-your-own-reputation system can be implemented to increase checks on unfamiliar domains. Other key practices include employing suppression lists to exclude unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-reported addresses, using honeypots to identify and block bots, and continuously monitoring sender reputation. Typo detection and correction features can also prevent accidental misspellings that lead to deliverability issues. Furthermore, gradually increasing sending volume (email warm-up) helps build a positive reputation, and regular blacklist checks are vital for identifying existing issues. Segmenting lists and tailoring content enhances engagement, reducing the likelihood of being marked as spam.

Key findings

  • Double Opt-In (DOI): DOI implementation for less common domains significantly reduces garbage traps and ensures engaged subscribers.
  • Email Validation Services/APIs: Services and APIs from Mailgun, NeverBounce, Hunter.io, etc., identify typos, disposable addresses, catch-all domains, and other risk factors.
  • Build-Your-Own Reputation System: Increase checks on unfamiliar domains to proactively manage list quality.
  • Suppression Lists: Suppression lists automatically exclude unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-reported addresses, protecting sender reputation.
  • Honeypots: Honeypots on signup forms effectively identify and block bots and malicious users.
  • Typo Detection & Correction: Features prevent accidental misspellings, ensuring valid email addresses are collected.
  • Sender Reputation Monitoring: Continuously monitor sender reputation and address deliverability issues promptly.
  • Email Warm-Up: Gradually increasing sending volume establishes a positive reputation.
  • Blacklist Checks: Regularly check IP addresses and domains against blacklists to identify potential issues.
  • List Segmentation: Segment email lists for better targeting to increase engagement.

Key considerations

  • Cost vs. Benefit of COI/DOI: Evaluate the costs and benefits of Confirmed Opt-In/Double Opt-In (COI/DOI), especially for all new signups, balancing increased security with potential friction for legitimate users.
  • Special Handling of Catch-All Domains: Develop a clear strategy for handling identified catch-all domains, which may involve additional verification steps or adjusted sending practices.
  • Integration of Multiple Tools: Effectively integrate various verification tools and services into your signup process for comprehensive validation.
  • Proactive vs. Reactive Measures: Balance proactive measures (e.g., DOI, honeypots) with reactive measures (e.g., suppression lists, blacklist monitoring) for a holistic approach.
  • Building a Reputation: Balance using third-party validation against the work to build-your-own reputation.

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

Validating email signups from unusual or new domains to avoid spam traps involves a multi-faceted approach. Several methods exist to ensure the quality of email lists and sender reputation. Real-time email verification services can identify invalid or risky email addresses during signup, including typo detection, disposable emails, and domain issues. Implementing double opt-in (DOI) ensures that only engaged users are added to the list, preventing spam traps and improving deliverability. A build-your-own-reputation system, coupled with AI-powered email scoring and list hygiene techniques such as suppression lists, can further refine email list quality. Other important considerations are segmenting lists for better targeting and engagement, monitoring sender reputation, email warm-up, and checking blacklists. Finally, typo detection tools can help reduce accidental entries.

Key opinions

  • Real-time verification: Using real-time email verification identifies invalid or risky addresses during signup.
  • Double Opt-In: Implementing DOI ensures engaged users and prevents spam traps.
  • AI scoring: AI-powered email scoring assesses the risk level of email addresses.
  • Typo detection: Employing typo detection corrects misspelled domains during signup.
  • List Segmentation: Segmenting email lists increases engagement and relevance.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Monitoring sender reputation helps identify deliverability issues early.
  • Email Warm-up: Gradually increasing sending volume establishes positive sender reputation.
  • Blacklist Checks: Checking IP addresses and domains against blacklists identifies reputation issues.

Key considerations

  • Build Reputation Systems: Building your own reputation system may offer more tailored control.
  • List Hygiene: Employ various list hygiene techniques, including email verification and suppression lists, in combination.
  • COI Value: Consider the value of COI (Confirmed Opt-In) for addressing various delivery issues.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet advises gradually increasing sending volume from new domains or IPs (email warm-up) to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs and prevent deliverability issues.

March 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Hippo shares that their service includes typo detection, suggesting alternatives to misspelled domains during signup. This helps prevent users from accidentally entering incorrect email addresses that may lead to spam traps.

November 2021 - Email Hippo
Marketer view

Email marketer from ZeroBounce explains that their AI-powered email scoring system assesses the risk level of each email address, helping to identify potential spam traps and high-risk addresses before sending campaigns.

November 2023 - ZeroBounce
Marketer view

Email marketer from NeverBounce shares that their real-time email verification can identify invalid or risky email addresses at the point of signup. This includes detecting disposable emails, syntax errors, and domain issues.

December 2021 - NeverBounce
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus suggests to monitor your sender reputation regularly, including domain and IP reputation, to identify and address potential deliverability issues before they impact your campaigns. Also consider the from name and subject line.

March 2022 - Litmus
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that AWeber has built in typo auto detection for domain issues and corrects many of these at sign up time with an 'are you sure?' type interstitial.

June 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains the importance of list segmentation to target subscribers based on demographics, behavior, engagement, and more. Segmenting your lists helps ensure that your messages are relevant to each subscriber, increasing engagement and helping avoid being marked as spam.

June 2021 - EmailOnAcid
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests a build-your-own-reputation system where if you haven't seen the domain before, you do more checks.

December 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora Forums suggests to check if your IP address or domain is on any blacklists, this is a crucial step in identifying and resolving deliverability issues caused by poor sender reputation.

August 2022 - Quora
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that COI has significant value to a wide spectrum of delivery issues.

March 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Validity recommends employing a combination of list hygiene techniques, including email verification and suppression lists, to identify and remove potentially harmful email addresses from your database.

May 2021 - Validity
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that implementing double opt-in (DOI) ensures that only valid and engaged users are added to your list. This helps prevent spam traps and improves overall deliverability.

January 2023 - Reddit

What the experts say
4Expert opinions

Validating email signups from unusual or new domains can be achieved using a combination of strategies. Implementing a system where signups from less common domains go through a double opt-in process can reduce garbage traps. Email verification tools can identify catch-all domains, allowing for special handling. Email validation services are also recommended for cleaning email lists and reducing the risk of sending to spam traps. Additionally, using honeypots on signup forms can help identify and block bots and malicious users.

Key opinions

  • Double Opt-In for Uncommon Domains: Implementing double opt-in for signups from less common domains reduces garbage traps.
  • Catch-All Domain Identification: Verification tools can identify catch-all domains for special handling.
  • Email Validation Services: Using email validation services cleans email lists and reduces spam trap risks.
  • Honeypots for Bot Detection: Honeypots identify and block bots and malicious users on signup forms.

Key considerations

  • Special Handling: Determine how to handle catch-all domains once identified (e.g., additional verification steps).
  • COI/DOI burden: Weigh the costs and benefits of COI/DOI especially for all new signups
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that using honey pots (email addresses specifically created to catch spammers) on signup forms can help identify and block bots and malicious users, reducing the risk of adding spam traps to your list.

June 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that most verification tools are smart enough to denote a catch all domain and warn you about it, so then you can decide if you want to special case it.

February 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource recommends using email validation services to clean up email lists and reduce the risk of sending to spam traps, especially when dealing with unusual or new domains.

April 2021 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares idea to design a system where signups from domains not in the top X domains go through a double opt-in/confirmed opt-in to help knock out garbage traps while avoiding undue burden of COI/DOI for all signups.

October 2021 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Validating email signups involves using various tools and services to identify and remove potentially harmful email addresses. Email Validation APIs can detect typos, disposable addresses, and spam traps, providing quality scores and deliverability risk assessments. Services also identify catch-all domains, suggesting caution and additional verification steps. Email verification tools check for valid email addresses without sending emails, identifying invalid, disposable, or risky addresses. Suppression lists automatically exclude unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-reported addresses, protecting sender reputation. Amazon SES provides tools for verifying addresses, identifying hard bounces, and managing spam complaints.

Key findings

  • Email Validation APIs: APIs identify typos, disposable addresses, and spam traps.
  • Catch-all Domain Detection: Services identify catch-all domains, which require caution.
  • Email Verification Tools: Tools check for valid addresses without sending emails.
  • Suppression Lists: Suppression lists exclude unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-reported addresses.
  • SES Verification: Amazon SES offers address verification and spam complaint management.

Key considerations

  • Risk Assessment: Understand the deliverability risks associated with catch-all domains.
  • Actionable Steps: Implement additional verification steps for addresses flagged as risky.
  • Tool Integration: Consider how to integrate different verification tools and services into your signup process.
Technical article

Documentation from Hunter.io shares that their email verification tool checks whether an email address exists without sending an actual email. It identifies invalid, disposable, or risky email addresses, improving deliverability rates.

January 2022 - Hunter.io
Technical article

Documentation from AWS explains that Amazon SES (Simple Email Service) provides tools to verify email addresses before sending. This includes identifying hard bounces and spam complaints to maintain a clean sending reputation.

November 2023 - AWS
Technical article

Documentation from SendGrid details the use of suppression lists to automatically exclude unsubscribed, bounced, and spam-reported email addresses from future campaigns. This helps protect sender reputation and improve deliverability.

April 2024 - SendGrid
Technical article

Documentation from Kickbox details that their service identifies catch-all domains. They suggest treating these with caution, as deliverability to these addresses is often unreliable. Consider implementing additional verification steps.

March 2024 - Kickbox
Technical article

Documentation from Mailgun explains that their Email Validation API helps identify and correct typos, detect disposable email addresses, and flag potential spam traps before they enter your system. It returns a quality score, deliverability risk, and suggestions.

August 2022 - Mailgun