How important are SPAMCOP and SORBS blacklists for email deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Marketing Forum shares that consistently monitoring your domain and IP reputation is essential to avoid blacklists and maintain good deliverability. If you get listed, act quickly to resolve the issue.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that SPAMCOP is a high-tier blacklist with measurable deliverability impact. SORBs has minimal impact and questionable practices, but delisting is still advised. SORBs delisting allows access to redacted headers for easier sender tracking.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains shared IPs are frequently listed and delisted. It's important to monitor how long the listing lasts and if the ESP moves clients off bad IPs.
Email marketer from Reddit user u/email_help shares that some blacklists are more important than others, with Spamhaus and Spamcop being more influential than SORBS. Being listed on the major lists can significantly impact whether your emails reach the inbox.
Email marketer from GlockApps Blog explains that blacklists vary in their impact, with some, like Spamhaus, having a greater influence than others. SORBS is also listed as a blacklist, meaning being listed on this will affect deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that it's worthwhile tracking underperformance after being listed and if no changes in deliverability are observed then SORBS is probably not a huge issue. Also that it's a waste of time chasing down SORBS since the impact is minimal.
Email marketer from StackExchange answers question about spam lists explains that a listing on a major blacklist can cause email to be bounced or marked as spam by many ISPs. The severity depends on the blacklist's reputation and how widely it is used.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that SPAMCOP and SORBS are used enough to warrant concern if listed, advising against ignoring a listing.
Email marketer from Sender Blog shares that blacklists are a critical factor affecting email deliverability. Being listed on a prominent blacklist can lead to a significant drop in email deliverability rates, as many email service providers (ESPs) and corporate email servers use these lists to filter spam.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that being listed on blacklists like Spamhaus, Spamcop, and SORBS can significantly harm email deliverability, leading to emails being marked as spam or blocked entirely.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog shares that if emails are going to spam, check if you are on any blacklists. This will massively affect deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains if co-marketing partners send spam including your domain or links, their poor reputation will affect your brand.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that blacklist effectiveness varies widely depending on the recipient domain. Some domains rely heavily on certain blacklists, while others may disregard them entirely, making it essential to monitor your sender reputation across multiple blacklists.
Expert from Spamresource explains that monitoring blacklists like Spamcop and others, is important as a listing on a widely used blacklist can significantly impact email deliverability. It is important to monitor your IP and domain reputation regularly to proactively identify and address any issues.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Spamcop explains that Spamcop's BL is used by many mail servers to block spam. Therefore, being listed will reduce deliverability.
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that Spamhaus is a very important and used blacklist and any listing can seriously affect deliverability.
Documentation from MultiRBL explains that blacklists exist and recommends that you check them and monitor them regularly. Also explains that a listing affects deliverability.
Documentation from SORBS explains that SORBS is a DNSBL provider, but the lists are not updated anymore.