How does Google calculate spam rate and what does 'active users' mean in Google Postmaster Tools?

Email marketer from Hunter.io discusses the importance of keeping spam rate low (under 0.08%) by employing strategies such as using a confirmed opt-in, sending relevant and useful emails as well as segmenting your recipient list.

Email marketer from Zerobounce discusses how several factors will impact your spam rates including: Sending to unengaged recipients, a high bounce rate and poor sending reputation.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that recipients marking emails as spam directly impacts sender reputation with major ISPs. They suggest focusing on list hygiene and relevant content.

Email marketer from Litmus shares that spam filters are not the only thing determining if you go to spam; user interaction is important too. If the user marks your email as spam then it will count negatively towards your sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that active might simply mean users who have used mail in the last 180 days.

Email marketer from Gmass recommends segmenting email lists to send targeted content, monitoring bounce rates to remove invalid addresses, and A/B testing subject lines to improve engagement and reduce spam complaints.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that a high spam rate indicates that a significant portion of recipients are marking emails as unwanted. This can be influenced by factors like sending irrelevant content, using misleading subject lines, or having an outdated email list.

Email marketer from EmailToolTester advises that keeping the spam rate below 0.1% is crucial for maintaining good deliverability. They recommend regularly cleaning email lists and using double opt-in.

Email marketer from EasySendy discusses the importance of authenticating your emails to avoid being flagged as spam, this involves steps such as setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

Expert from Email Geeks states that the FAQ is correct, including the part about the spam rate potentially going down if a lot of email is already sent to the spam folder. He explains that not all people vote email as spam, and the low percentage of users who get the mail in their inbox might actually want that email or simply don’t care.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum speculates that 'active users' in Google Postmaster Tools likely refers to users who have recently engaged with their Gmail account, such as logging in or reading emails, but the exact criteria is not publicly disclosed.

Expert from Wordtothewise.com shares the spam filter is very sophisticated and looks at a huge number of factors. It's designed to learn what the user considers spam and to put similar messages into the spam folder.

Expert from Email Geeks says Google's spam rate FAQ is wrong, especially the part about substantial emails delivered directly to spam folders. She explains that spam foldering changes the spam rate because ESPs calculate based on 'number delivered' and assume all mail goes to the inbox. Google calculates the rate based on the amount of mail in the inbox.

Expert from Spamresource.com explains that complaints are a leading factor in determining inbox placement. Too many spam complaints will severely damage your reputation and ability to reach the inbox.

Expert from Wordtothewise.com highlights that if the recipient marks email as spam, that's a clear sign to mailbox providers that the email is unwanted. This can lead to deliverability issues and damage sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks states Google has never been that detailed about how they calculate spam rate and there has been no announcement of a change that she is aware of.

Expert from Email Geeks mentions that Google hasn't defined what "active users" are. It could mean people who log into their Gmail account, open the message, log in when the message is on the first page, or went to the promotions tab.

Documentation from SendGrid explains that ISPs like Google use spam complaints as a major factor in determining sender reputation. A higher complaint rate leads to filtering or blocking.

Documentation from SparkPost explains that Feedback Loops (FBLs) provide senders with data on spam complaints, allowing them to identify and address issues affecting deliverability. This helps in maintaining a healthy sender reputation.

Documentation from Google doesn't explicitly define 'active users' in the context of spam rate calculation. It implies that the calculation focuses on users who receive emails in their inbox.

Documentation from Google Support explains that the spam rate is the percentage of emails marked as spam by users, divided by the number of emails sent to the inbox. A high spam rate can negatively impact deliverability.