How to fix poor Gmail delivery rate and domain reputation?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests sending a whitelisting campaign to the engaged audience, asking them to add the From address to their contact lists to help improve domain reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares to check Google Postmaster Tools Sender Compliance to see reasons for inboxing problems. Suggests list cleanup and securing opt-in forms, plus implementing double opt-in.
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailExpert shares that deliverability issues can arise from poor list management practices. Regularly clean your list, remove hard bounces, and suppress unsubscribes to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
Email marketer from SendGrid explains that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for improving deliverability. Senders should ensure their DNS records are correctly configured to verify their identity and prevent spoofing.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor suggests tracking engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribe rates. Low engagement can signal deliverability issues, so monitor these metrics closely and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Email marketer from GlockApps Blog shares that email deliverability depends on factors like sender reputation, authentication, list hygiene, and content quality. Monitoring inbox placement using tools like GlockApps helps identify and fix deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that segmenting your email list based on engagement, demographics, and purchase history can improve deliverability. Sending targeted content to specific groups increases engagement and reduces spam complaints.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce shares that using email validation tools can help identify and remove invalid or risky email addresses from your list, improving deliverability and protecting your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that being blacklisted can severely impact deliverability. Check if your IP or domain is on any blacklists and take steps to get removed, such as contacting the blacklist provider and resolving the underlying issues.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends using an email validation service for list scrubbing, and mentions Email Oversight as a possible solution.
Email marketer from HubSpot answers that re-engagement campaigns are a strategy to revive inactive subscribers. Send targeted emails to encourage them to re-engage with your content or unsubscribe if they're no longer interested.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that improving email deliverability involves cleaning your email list to remove inactive or invalid addresses, segmenting your audience to send more relevant content, and monitoring your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester suggests implementing double opt-in to ensure that subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails, reducing the likelihood of spam complaints and improving engagement.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that sender reputation is crucial, and focusing on engagement is key. They advise sending to recipients who actively open and interact with your emails to improve your reputation with Gmail.
Expert from Word to the Wise advises maintaining strict list hygiene. Regularly removing inactive subscribers, handling bounces promptly, and honoring unsubscribe requests are vital for preserving a good sending reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that a small percentage of emails reaching the inbox with low open rates indicate messages going to the bulk folder and contributing to poor reputation. Recommends sending only to 'inboxers' to rebuild reputation and reviewing the email program. Also suggests selectively resending to engaged recipients after reputation repair.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is a foundational step. Ensuring these are correctly configured helps Gmail verify your identity and reduces the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that consistently monitoring your deliverability metrics, including bounce rates, complaint rates, and inbox placement, is essential for identifying and addressing issues promptly.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF records should be properly configured to authorize sending mail servers. Incorrect or missing SPF records can cause deliverability issues.
Documentation from SparkPost details the process of warming up IP addresses by gradually increasing sending volume to build a positive reputation with ISPs. It suggests starting with engaged users and slowly adding more recipients over time.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that senders should authenticate their email using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. It also suggests keeping spam rates low (below 0.10%) and avoiding sending unwanted mail. Consistent sending volumes can help establish a positive reputation.
Documentation from Microsoft Postmaster explains that senders should monitor their IP and domain reputation using Sender Support in Microsoft 365 and Exchange Online Protection (EOP). They advise addressing any issues identified promptly to maintain a good sending reputation.
Documentation from DKIM describes that using DKIM signatures to cryptographically sign email messages ensures that the email has not been altered during transit and verifies the sender's identity.