How has Yahoo data changed for email marketers since January 2021?
Summary
What email marketers say14Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailGeeks confirms that Return Path (Validity) also observed similar issues across their clients and contacted VMG but received no response. URL: existing chat logs provided.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that globally, median opens and inboxing decreased by 5-10% after January 28th, with right-wing political news, fintech marketing, and affiliate marketers experiencing harder drops. ESPs and senders were reluctant to admit issues. Rotating IPs and warming up new ones lead to TSS blocks, with the recommendation to drop traffic and concentrate on re-nurturing flows.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks explains that globally, median opens and inboxing decreased by 5-10% after January 28th, with right-wing political news, fintech marketing, and affiliate marketers experiencing harder drops. ESPs and senders were reluctant to admit issues. Rotating IPs and warming up new ones lead to TSS blocks, with the recommendation to drop traffic and concentrate on re-nurturing flows. URL: existing chat logs provided.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests actively monitoring Yahoo's postmaster tools for feedback loops and deliverability data, as well as segmenting lists and personalizing messages more effectively. This user highlights the importance of adapting to Yahoo's evolving filtering criteria.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks reports that their Yahoo data, focused on political/non-profit sends, shows no noticeable change in open rates since January 28th, with fluctuations within a percentage point of the average. January and February performed better than December, but there was a slight dip between Jan and Feb. They noted that higher volume correlates with lower open rates. URL: existing chat logs provided.
Email marketer from Sender explains that to combat Yahoo data changes, make sure your sender reputation is good, authenticate your emails, personalize emails, avoid spam content, and keep your email lists clean. Authenticating emails improves your chances of your emails being delivered to recipients inboxes.
Marketer from Email Geeks confirms that Return Path (Validity) also observed similar issues across their clients and contacted VMG but received no response.
Email marketer from Mailchimp suggests best practices for improving email deliverability, including using authentication methods (SPF and DKIM), segmenting email lists, avoiding spam trigger words, and maintaining consistent sending volumes. Although not specific to Yahoo after January 2021, these practices would assist with ensuring proper email deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum user shares experiencing significant drop in open rates for Yahoo users post changes, suggests focusing on quality content, engagement, and double-checking SPF and DKIM records as crucial for better deliverability and avoiding spam filters.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that to respond to the changes in 2021, regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers, bouncing addresses, and unsubscribed users. Maintaining a clean email list improves your sender reputation and deliverability, making it easier to reach the inbox in Yahoo and other email providers.
Email marketer from Litmus answers that to combat deliverability issues, monitor your sender reputation, track key metrics such as open rates and bounce rates, and use feedback loops to address any problems that arise. This proactive approach can help you respond to changes made by Yahoo or other email providers and minimize the impact on your deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks acknowledges that some senders are doing well, but a general drop is visible even on those senders (even if it's 1-2% from the usual)
Email marketer from SparkPost recommends improving email list hygiene, authenticating email, monitoring reputation, and engaging subscribers regularly to improve Yahoo deliverability. These strategies are effective for responding to any changes in Yahoo's email filtering policies.
Marketer from Email Geeks reports that their Yahoo data, focused on political/non-profit sends, shows no noticeable change in open rates since January 28th, with fluctuations within a percentage point of the average. January and February performed better than December, but there was a slight dip between Jan and Feb. They noted that higher volume correlates with lower open rates.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise recommends closely monitoring engagement metrics (opens, clicks, etc.) specifically for Yahoo recipients. Since the changes in early 2021, Yahoo appears to be placing more weight on engagement as a factor in determining inbox placement. They also suggest segmenting Yahoo users and sending targeted content to increase engagement.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that Yahoo has been more aggressively filtering based on spam complaint rates since early 2021. Senders need to maintain extremely low complaint rates (below 0.1%) to ensure deliverability. They also recommend actively suppressing complainants and using confirmed opt-in methods.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Yahoo Help emphasizes the importance of authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), consistent sending IP addresses, maintaining low spam complaint rates, and providing easy unsubscribe options for maintaining good deliverability to Yahoo inboxes. While this is general information, following these guidelines is vital after the specific changes that happened in early 2021. URL: existing chat logs provided.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing a DMARC policy helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, which can improve Yahoo data by establishing clear guidelines for how Yahoo should handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks.
Documentation from RFC (Request For Comments) explains that implementing SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records can improve Yahoo data in 2021 because it ensures that only authorized mail servers can send email on behalf of your domain, reducing spoofing and improving email deliverability.
Documentation from RFC explains that DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) improves Yahoo data because it adds a digital signature to outgoing emails, allowing Yahoo and other providers to verify the sender's authenticity and integrity, and reduce risk of emails marked as spam.