How do I identify what spam filter a company is using?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailToolTester explains that GlockApps can be used to test email deliverability and identify spam filters. It sends emails to various mailboxes and provides reports on placement in inbox, spam folder, or missing status.
Email marketer from Gmass shares that setting up seed list testing involves sending test emails to a variety of email addresses across different providers. The results can indicate which providers are filtering your emails as spam.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that analyzing a domain's SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records can provide insights into their email authentication practices and the potential spam filters they employ. Use online tools to check these records and understand their configuration.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that Litmus provides email testing tools that can help identify potential deliverability issues and spam filter triggers. Their platform offers insights into how emails are rendered and filtered by different email clients and spam filters.
Email marketer from SendPulse shares that their email testing tools enable users to check the deliverability of their emails and identify potential spam filter triggers before sending campaigns. The tool provides insights into spam score, authentication issues, and content-related problems.
Email marketer from Snov.io explains that using blacklist checking tools can reveal if a domain or IP address is listed on various blocklists, indicating potential spam filtering issues. Tools like MultiRBL and Blacklist Check can be used for this purpose.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that monitoring IP reputation is crucial for identifying spam filtering issues. Services like Sender Score and Return Path's Sender Score can provide insights into IP reputation and potential spam filter triggers.
Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that MXToolbox can be used to identify the mail servers and potential spam filters a company is using. By entering the domain name, you can view the MX records, which often indicate the email service provider and associated filtering services.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow shares that analyzing bounce messages (NDRs) can reveal information about the spam filtering mechanisms in place. The bounce message headers often contain details about the filtering software and policies.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that when you get rejections you can google the messages. They’re often distinctive. They also shares they tend to lookup the MX; it’s often obvious from there. If not, check the IP ownership of the MX servers.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that seed lists can be a helpful part of your delivery monitoring, but they aren't the only thing to use. Seed list results are not statistically significant (you usually have very few seeds per domain). You want a variety of seeds, including different geographies and business types. Different seed providers weight seeds differently based on their relationship with mailbox providers. There are benefits to using different providers.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that if you are being blocked, start by checking the error message. Look at the SMTP logs to see the exact error. If the errors include a URL, visit it to see what the blocklist operator says about the block. If the error is vague, try to connect with a mail client and send a test message, to see if more details emerge.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that Outlook is a giant black box of lack of support and intricate and inexplicable delivery.
What the documentation says6Technical articles
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that Spamhaus maintains various blocklists (e.g., SBL, XBL, PBL) that identify IP addresses and domains known for sending spam. Checking whether a company's mail server IP is listed on these blocklists can indicate the use of Spamhaus filtering.
Documentation from Cisco explains that the Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA) uses various techniques such as reputation filtering, content analysis, and outbreak filters to identify and block spam. Admins can configure and monitor spam filtering policies through the ESA interface.
Documentation from Proofpoint explains that their Email Protection service uses a multi-layered approach including reputation analysis, content analysis, and advanced threat detection to identify and block spam and malicious emails. Administrators can access reports and customize policies.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that Gmail uses sophisticated machine learning algorithms to identify and filter spam. Admins can customize spam filter settings and view reports in the Google Admin console.
Documentation from Barracuda explains that the Barracuda Spam Firewall uses techniques like real-time intent analysis, Bayesian filtering, and sender reputation to identify and block spam. Admins can customize filtering policies and view detailed reports.
Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains that Exchange Online Protection (EOP) uses various spam filtering techniques, including connection filtering, spam signature filtering, and heuristic analysis, to identify and block spam. Admins can view spam filter reports in the Security & Compliance Center.