How does an IP address being on a blocklist affect domain reputation and email open rates?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that a poor IP reputation, often resulting from being on a blocklist, directly reduces the chances of your emails reaching the inbox. ISPs use IP reputation as a key factor in filtering spam, so a blocked IP can lead to drastically lower open rates.
Email marketer from EasyDMARC explains that blacklisted IPs can cause a multitude of problems, including the recipient server blocking your emails, or routing them to the spam folder. This has a profound effect on email deliverability.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that when a spam filter identifies an IP address as a source of spam, it will block the email. If the email gets delivered to the spam folder, email open rates will be negatively affected.
Email marketer from GlockApps shares that if your IP address is on a blacklist, it will reduce your deliverability to subscribers, which will result in fewer email opens.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce explains that a drop in sender reputation or being on a blocklist, will impact email deliverability and lead to emails being delivered to the spam folder, meaning fewer opens.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester explains that IP blacklisting means your emails might not reach subscribers' inboxes, leading to fewer opens and engagement. A good sending reputation is vital to avoid this.
Email marketer from SendPulse explains that Monitoring your IP address on various blocklists is crucial. If your IP is listed, your email open rates will likely plummet as fewer emails make it to the intended recipients.
Email marketer from Hunter shares that it's crucial to check whether the sender's IP address is blacklisted. If an email address is blacklisted, it will hurt the email deliverability rates.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum responds that being on a shared IP that gets blocklisted hurts everyone using that IP. Even if your sending practices are good, your deliverability and open rates will suffer.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that a blocklisted IP will cause significant deliverability issues, with many ISPs automatically rejecting emails. This directly translates to lower open rates as fewer people even receive the email.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that whether the IP address is affecting the customer's domain reputation depends on the connection between the IP address and the domain.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that monitoring blocklists is crucial. If your IP is listed, your email open rates will be impacted.
Expert from Email Geeks states that to further diagnose the issue, the specific domain is needed to assess the MXToolbox results.
Expert from Word to the Wise responds that IP reputation is one of the most important factors when email providers filter email. Poor IP reputation due to being on blocklists can negatively affect the delivery of email and cause deliverability problems, therefore affecting email open rates.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft SNDS details that it provides data about your IP reputation and potential issues affecting deliverability to Outlook.com and Hotmail users. A blocklisted IP will cause delivery failures or spam filtering, severely impacting open rates.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that Google uses sender reputation, heavily influenced by IP reputation, to determine whether to deliver emails to the inbox, spam folder, or block them entirely. Poor reputation due to blocklisting can result in reduced or non-existent open rates for Gmail users.
Documentation from Cisco Talos discusses the SenderBase Reputation System (SBRS). SBRS provides a reputation score based on IP Addresses and domains. Blocklisted or blacklisted IPs are flagged and this impacts email delivery, which lowers open rates.
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that being listed on a blocklist (like the SBL) can significantly impact email deliverability, leading to emails being rejected or sent to the spam folder by many ISPs and email providers, negatively affecting open rates.