How do spam traps and user engagement impact Gmail deliverability, and what list cleaning practices are recommended?

Marketer from Email Geeks finds a lot of customer pushback is based around "well, they MIGHT respond" without them realizing how harmful those unresponsive subscribers are and list validation can be a short-cut to clean out some bad addresses, but it shouldn't be a long-term solution.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum says that removing old, invalid emails is crucial because a lot of them will convert into spam traps. Email service providers will penalize this behaviour.

Marketer from Email Geeks says that the timeframe for converting inactive addresses to spam traps varies, but 6 months is a good starting point for identifying users who haven't opened an email and may need to be removed.

Email marketer from GlockApps explains that cleaning your email list will improve deliverability by removing invalid or inactive emails. They suggest using email validation tools and regularly scrubbing your list to maintain a healthy sender reputation.

Marketer from Email Geeks says spamtraps are a symptom of the disease of a sick list and to think of it like the flu. You should couple that with some Theraflu to also try to hit out at the disease.

Email marketer from Litmus shares that engaging content and consistent sending practices improve inbox placement. They suggest monitoring engagement metrics and adjusting your sending strategy to target active subscribers, which reduces the risk of hitting spam traps.

Marketer from Email Geeks says that hitting a spam trap will get you blacklisted and advises cleaning your list before emailing.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that if your list is dirty and hitting spam traps with high bounce rates, you'll likely go to spam. Conversely, even with perfect delivery rates, lack of engagement can also lead to spam placement.

Marketer from Email Geeks says paying attention to what Google says will help you get into Gmail. They also state that Google can use any metric it can get its hands on to help train their filters.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that Google's sender guidelines emphasize sending responsible mail. Cleaning lists eliminates those who don't want your email and recommends slowing down sending and only emailing engaged users who've explicitly agreed to receive emails. They state that Google guidelines are available here: <https://support.google.com/mail/answer/81126?hl=en>

Email marketer from ReturnPath explains that subscriber engagement is a key factor in email deliverability. Low engagement signals that your emails are not valuable to recipients, which can negatively impact your sender reputation and inbox placement.

Marketer from Email Geeks clarifies that spam traps are a symptom of emailing inactive people for too long and recommends removing inactive users.

Email marketer from ZeroBounce says that high bounce rates damage sender reputation, leading to deliverability issues. Regular list cleaning helps reduce bounce rates, improving deliverability.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that segmenting and re-engaging cold subscribers is a good practice. If they don't respond to a re-engagement campaign, it's better to remove them from the list to protect your sender reputation and avoid spam traps.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests reviewing those who signed up months ago but never opened anything. If someone has been on your list more than 90 days and hasn't opened an email, don't keep emailing them.

Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that reducing hard bounces enhances your sender reputation. They recommend regularly cleaning your list to remove invalid email addresses that lead to hard bounces, which can negatively impact your deliverability.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that spam traps can severely damage your sender reputation and deliverability. Regularly cleaning your list to remove inactive or invalid addresses helps avoid hitting these traps.

Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that list cleaning is vital for maintaining good sender reputation. They suggest segmenting based on engagement and removing unengaged subscribers to improve deliverability and avoid spam traps.

Expert from Email Geeks says that email is not being blocked or bulked because of spamtraps and that you shouldn't expect any long term benefits if you pay shysters to strip all the spamtraps from your list.

Expert from Email Geeks states that Google has stated publicly that they do not trust nor use spamtraps.

Expert from Spamresource explains that list hygiene is essential and that sending to known spamtrap addresses will damage your reputation and deliverability, advising proactive removal of stale or invalid addresses to mitigate risks.

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that engagement is a critical factor for Gmail deliverability, noting that Gmail uses engagement metrics to determine inbox placement. They recommend focusing on sending relevant content to engaged subscribers and removing unengaged subscribers from your list to improve deliverability.

Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that keeping your email list up-to-date and removing inactive recipients can improve deliverability. They recommend regularly cleaning your list to reduce the number of bounced messages and avoid being marked as a spammer.

Documentation from Spamhaus states that maintaining a clean email list is critical for avoiding spam listings. Removing invalid or inactive email addresses reduces the risk of being flagged as a spammer, thus improving your deliverability.

Documentation from RFC-Editor shares that email authentication and list hygiene are crucial for deliverability. Properly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, combined with regular list cleaning, improve your chances of reaching the inbox.

Documentation from Microsoft outlines various best practices for improving email deliverability, including using confirmed opt-in, providing clear unsubscribe options, and regularly cleaning your email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses.