How do DMARC, spam complaints, and IP reputation affect email deliverability and rejections?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that high spam rates can lead to a decrease in reputation, potentially resulting in emails being delivered to the junk folder. Gmail typically rejects emails for spam reasons at low or bad reputation levels.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that correctly setting up DMARC, SPF, and DKIM is the first step to avoid being marked as spam. Monitor DMARC reports to catch any issues.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce shares that IP warming builds a reputation and deliverability. For example increasing emails by 500 per day over a month to build the IP and domain reputation over that time.
Email marketer from GlockApps explains that high spam complaint rates directly decrease email deliverability. This is because mailbox providers use complaint rates as a key factor in determining whether to place emails in the inbox or spam folder. Monitoring and reducing complaints is essential.
Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that using DMARC, monitoring sender reputation, and minimizing spam complaints are important for improving email deliverability. He recommends implementing SPF and DKIM in conjunction with DMARC to improve email authentication.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if emails from company B are being rejected due to issues related to company A, it's because the recipient's server (Gmail) has identified elements associated with company A within the emails sent for company B. Checking the email headers may show the cause.
Email marketer from Litmus explains DMARC, SPF, and DKIM are essential for email authentication, proving to mailbox providers that you are who you say you are. This directly impacts deliverability by reducing the chances of being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that high spam complaint rates negatively affect sender reputation, leading ISPs to filter emails to the spam folder or block them entirely. Maintaining a clean mailing list and sending relevant content are crucial to minimizing spam complaints and improving deliverability.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that maintaining a good sender reputation, using email authentication, and avoiding spam triggers are critical for email deliverability. DMARC helps protect your domain, and consistent sending practices help build a positive reputation.
Email marketer from SendGrid shares that IP reputation is a critical factor in email deliverability. A poor IP reputation, often resulting from spamming or poor list hygiene, can cause ISPs to block emails from that IP address. Monitoring and maintaining a good IP reputation is essential for ensuring emails reach the inbox.
Email marketer from an Email Marketing Forum discusses how high spam complaint rates can immediately damage a sender's reputation. Keeping lists clean and ensuring recipients have opted-in is key.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that while RUA is important for monitoring, it doesn't directly affect deliverability. Also, rejections due to DMARC are not the same as rejections due to spamming.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from SpamResource shares that IP reputation is a major factor in deliverability, with providers like Gmail and Hotmail heavily weighing it. A low IP reputation often leads to emails being sent to spam or blocked.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that DMARC is a policy that tells mailbox providers what to do with messages that fail authentication. Correctly implementing DMARC can prevent spoofing and improve deliverability by instructing providers to reject or quarantine unauthenticated emails.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that feedback loops (FBLs) are essential for identifying and addressing spam complaints. Monitoring FBLs allows senders to remove complainers from their lists, thereby improving sender reputation and deliverability.
Expert from SpamResource explains that domain reputation is the assessment of your sending domain by mailbox providers. Poor sending practices or high spam complaint rates leads to bad reputation and deliverability.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC allows domain owners to specify how email receivers should handle messages that fail DMARC checks (none, quarantine, reject). Implementing a 'reject' policy helps prevent unauthorized use of the domain, directly impacting deliverability by ensuring only authenticated emails are delivered.
Documentation from RFC explains that a DMARC policy allows a sender to indicate that their messages are protected by SPF and/or DKIM, and gives the receiver instructions if neither of those authentication methods passes. This can improve deliverability.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC work together to verify the authenticity of email messages. DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM to provide instructions to email receivers on how to handle messages that fail authentication checks, thereby protecting the domain's reputation and improving deliverability.
Documentation from Google explains that DMARC helps prevent spoofing and phishing, improving deliverability by authenticating email sources and instructing recipient servers on how to handle unauthenticated emails.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that spam complaints, bounce rates, and engagement metrics are all key factors in determining a sender's reputation. Positive engagement and low complaint rates lead to a good reputation and improved deliverability.