How does sender domain vs IP hard bounce rate impact sender reputation with ISPs like Gmail?

Email marketer from Reddit shares that while IP reputation matters, domain reputation is increasingly significant. Gmail and other major ISPs are placing more emphasis on domain-based metrics. Senders should focus on building a strong domain reputation through consistent sending practices, low bounce rates, and positive engagement signals.

Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that sender IP, domain reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content, spam complaints, and bounce rates all affect reputation.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that hard bounce rates should stay under 1%. Spikes could indicate data issues, and email verification services like Kickbox may help.

Email marketer from SparkPost shares that domain-based reputation is crucial, especially for Gmail. Starting with a small volume of emails and gradually increasing it helps establish a positive sending history. Consistent sending practices and low bounce rates contribute to building a strong domain reputation with ISPs.

Email marketer from Litmus shares that ISPs consider a range of factors for deliverability, including sender reputation based on domain and IP address. High bounce rates, especially hard bounces, directly impact sender reputation and can lead to deliverability problems. Implementing email authentication protocols and maintaining a clean email list are essential practices.

Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that Gmail is more domain-based, so monitor GPT's metrics. Also advises that Gmail should tolerate a temporary spike to 2% during list cleansing.

Email marketer from Gmass explains to consider email reputation factors like the IP address of your mail server, the domain that appears in your FROM address, and the content of emails.

Email marketer from SendPulse Blog explains that ISPs consider both IP and domain reputation, but domain reputation is becoming increasingly important. Maintaining a good domain reputation involves using proper email authentication, keeping bounce rates low, and ensuring recipients engage positively with emails. Regularly monitoring domain reputation metrics is essential for identifying and addressing deliverability issues.

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that high bounce rates, especially hard bounces, negatively impact sender reputation at both the IP and domain levels. High bounce rates signal poor list hygiene and can lead ISPs to block emails or send them to spam. Monitoring and maintaining low bounce rates are crucial for maintaining a positive sender reputation.

Email marketer from EmailGeeks answers states that the generally accepted range for bounce rates is below 2%.

Email marketer from emailmarketingforum.com explains that when on a shared IP, any bad practices by other users on the IP impact your sender reputation, and recommends dedicated IPs to avoid this.

Email marketer from Email Geeks responds that as long as bounce rates stay low and engagement is good (sending to most active recipients first), reputation shifts should be minimal, but not entirely ruled out.

Expert from Email Geeks explains to determine the specific bounce reason (domain block vs. user unknown). A domain/subdomain block from Google requires stopping mailing to avoid reputation damage and further describes the importance of analyzing SMTP codes and text messages from bounces to properly diagnose issues, providing examples of specific Google error messages and their corresponding fixes.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that bounce processing is a complex task but should be set up correctly. Getting the bounces processed badly means you do not know the correct IP/Domain reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that the reason for hard bounces matters, especially if it's due to 'no such user' from a stale list.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that maintaining a positive email reputation requires paying close attention to various factors, including open rates and bounce rates. Lower open rates coupled with higher bounces directly correlate to a negative email reputation

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that engagement is a key factor for domain reputation. High hard bounce rates combined with low engagement signal a problem to ISPs like Gmail, and that the domain will be seen as a bad sender.

Documentation from Microsoft explains that high bounce rates negatively impact sender reputation, affecting email deliverability to Outlook.com and other Microsoft email services. Implementing email authentication and managing subscriber lists are key components of maintaining a good sender reputation. Microsoft also states that the source is considered when determining the reputation - either the sending IP or domain.

Documentation from Dmarc.org explains that Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) is critical to protecting your email and domain reputation.

Documentation from RFC 524 explains that SMTP enhanced mail system status codes are important for the sender to determine the cause of a bounce. Some status codes relate to domain specific issues and some relate to IP specific issues.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help explains that Gmail primarily evaluates sender reputation based on the domain. A poor domain reputation can lead to emails being marked as spam or blocked, even if the sending IP has a good reputation. Domain reputation is influenced by factors like bounce rates, spam complaints, and authentication practices.