How do spam reports affect email domain reputation and deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say8Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus explains that low engagement combined with high spam complaint rates will severely damage sender reputation and deliverability. ISPs use engagement metrics as an indicator of email quality and relevance.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that if a large number of recipients mark your emails as spam, it can lead to blacklisting, which significantly impacts deliverability. Getting off a blacklist can be a difficult process.
Email marketer from SendPulse shares that spam complaints are one of the primary factors that affect sender reputation. A poor sender reputation can result in emails being filtered into the spam folder or blocked altogether.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that monitoring and addressing spam complaints is crucial for maintaining a positive sender reputation. They recommend implementing feedback loops to receive complaint data and identify the causes of complaints.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that some AI systems used by larger ISPs assign individual reputation scores to images and link destinations. This means that even messages from a seemingly clean domain can be marked as spam if they contain links or images associated with spam reports.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that spam complaints directly impact sender reputation. High complaint rates signal to ISPs that the sender's email practices are undesirable, leading to decreased deliverability.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce responds that high spam complaint rates lead to deliverability issues. ISPs use these complaints to determine whether to send your emails to the inbox, spam folder, or block them completely.
Email marketer from GlockApps responds that spam complaints are a key metric for assessing email deliverability. They recommend using feedback loops (FBLs) to receive information about spam complaints from ISPs and identify problematic campaigns or email practices.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise responds that setting up and actively monitoring feedback loops (FBLs) is crucial for understanding the impact of spam complaints. FBLs provide direct information from ISPs about recipients marking your email as spam, allowing you to identify and address deliverability problems.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that spam complaints are a critical signal to ISPs about the quality of your email program. A high complaint rate indicates that recipients do not want your email, leading to decreased deliverability to the inbox.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that spam reports damage the reputation of the mail stream and content, with the mechanics of identification and fingerprinting varying.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that ISPs report reputation for the d=domain that is configured, while other reputations are measured and used internally for delivery decisions, but are not publicly reported.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Editor specifies that while SPF doesn't directly address spam complaints, it aids in authentication, which indirectly affects deliverability. Proper authentication practices contribute to a positive sender reputation.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools specifies that senders should keep the spam rate below 0.10% and avoid ever reaching a rate of 0.30% or higher. If users are marking a sender's messages as spam, deliverability issues are likely.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that spam complaints are a critical factor in determining sender reputation and influence email placement. High spam complaint rates can lead to blocking or filtering to the spam folder.
Documentation from AWS outlines that spam complaints received through their feedback loop directly impact a sender's reputation within their SES platform. High complaint rates can result in account review or suspension to maintain the overall quality of their service.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that high spam complaint rates negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability. They recommend monitoring complaint rates and taking corrective action if they exceed acceptable levels.