How does Gmail's 'move to spam' after unsubscribe affect sender reputation?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit shares that you should never ever purchase email lists because those are very highly likely to be spam.
Email marketer from Email Geeks mentions the unsubscribe affordance in Gmail is more visible, helping receivers to use that instead of the spam button and it's unrelated to new sender guidelines. Unsubscribe/spam vote rates indicate receiver satisfaction with content.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Pro shares using double opt-in ensures subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails. This reduces the likelihood of spam complaints and helps maintain a healthy sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Tips Blog advises segmenting email lists based on user engagement. Sending targeted content to specific segments increases engagement and reduces the chances of users marking emails as spam.
Email marketer from Quora says that the user experience immediately after unsubscribing is important - ensure the user knows they have been unsubscribed and you don't keep sending them emails, otherwise you will likely be marked as spam.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that providing an easy and prominent unsubscribe option is crucial. Users who can't easily unsubscribe are more likely to mark emails as spam, negatively impacting your reputation.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that when a Gmail user marks an email as spam, it directly impacts your sender reputation negatively. High spam complaint rates can lead to emails being filtered into spam folders for other users.
Email marketer from Email Geeks says the 'move to spam folder' action after unsubscribe will likely count towards your GPT spam rate.
Email marketer from Email on Acid Forum emphasizes maintaining a clean and engaged email list. Regularly removing inactive subscribers and those who haven't engaged in a while reduces the likelihood of spam complaints and improves sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks clarifies that “move to spam folder” is an additional negative signal and any negative signal will impact sender reputation, based on user preference.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares it's about incentivizing senders to implement best practices they've been advised to do for years, responding to the threat of mail being blocked.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, responds by noting that engagement is important for your sender reputation, and that landing in spam traps as a result of purchasing email lists will seriously harm your sender reputation, even if you have a good product.
Expert from Spam Resource, John Levine, explains that spam complaints are a very strong negative signal to mailbox providers like Gmail. High complaint rates directly and negatively impact sender reputation, leading to deliverability problems.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if users unsubscribe and then move the email to spam, it's a strong signal the email wasn't wanted.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft describes the reputation scores of senders and the effect that things like spam complaints can have on those scores.
Documentation from SparkPost details that it's crucial to monitor sender reputation metrics like spam complaint rates. Sudden spikes in spam complaints can indicate issues with your email practices or list quality and require immediate attention.
Documentation from Mailchimp explains that spam complaints significantly harm sender reputation. ISPs use spam complaint data to filter emails, and high complaint rates can result in blacklisting.
Documentation from SendGrid explains that you must manage bounces, spam complaints, and unsubscribes carefully to maintain a good sender reputation. High rates of these indicate problems with your sending practices.
Documentation from Google Support states that spam complaints are a critical factor in determining sender reputation. A high spam rate signals to Gmail that your emails are unwanted, leading to deliverability issues.