How to identify if a domain has blocked you when emailing only a few recipients?

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid suggests actively monitoring your sender reputation using tools like Sender Score. A sudden drop in your score could indicate deliverability issues, potentially due to blocks. Consistent monitoring allows for early detection and mitigation.

Email marketer from GlockApps recommends testing using a seed list to see if your email hits the inbox, spam folder or is blocked. If you see a blocked result from a specific provider it can give an indication about overall deliverability.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow suggests checking the specific error message in the bounce. A 'blocked' message or a rejection due to policy reasons strongly indicates a block. The user highlights that consistent failures to a specific domain warrant further investigation.

Email marketer from Sendgrid emphasizes the importance of maintaining clean email lists. Sending to invalid or inactive email addresses increases bounce rates and can lead to blocks. Regularly cleaning your lists helps maintain a good sender reputation.

Email marketer from Reddit recommends using online blocklist checkers to see if your IP or domain is listed on any public blocklists. While not definitive for individual domain blocks, it provides a general overview of your sender reputation. If listed, it could contribute to deliverability issues.

Email marketer from SparkPost describes using feedback loops (FBLs) to identify when users mark your emails as spam. High spam complaints can lead to blocks. Implementing and monitoring FBLs is vital for maintaining a good sender reputation and avoiding deliverability issues.

Email marketer from GMass recommends warming up new IPs or domains by gradually increasing email volume. Sending too many emails too quickly can trigger spam filters and lead to blocks. Consistent, gradual warm-up helps establish a good sender reputation.

Email marketer from Litmus highlights the importance of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Failing to authenticate emails can lead to deliverability issues and blocks. Ensuring proper authentication helps prove that your emails are legitimate.

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum advises testing email delivery with multiple email accounts at the domain in question. If some accounts receive emails while others bounce with block-related errors, it strongly suggests a partial or account-specific block.

Email marketer from Mailgun documentation explains that analyzing SMTP bounce codes is essential. A 5xx error (permanent failure) may indicate a block, but specific codes (e.g., 550) provide more clarity. Reviewing these codes helps distinguish between temporary issues and permanent blocks.

Email marketer from Senderock mentions with low volume, manually review logs for hard bounces, look for patterns (like consistent blocks from one domain), and check specific error messages to determine if you are blocked or if there are other issues such as the email address being wrong.

Expert from Email Geeks shares a formula to identify potentially blocked domains when sending low email volumes: (# Attempts minus # Bounces) / # Attempts sorted ascending. Domains with equal attempts and bounces are highly likely to be blocked.

Expert from Email Geeks advises that SMTP bounce reasons are valuable for identifying blocked domains and explains that analyzing bounces is a worthwhile task.

Expert from Spam Resource explains a connection timing out to one specific domain is indicative of a manual block/rejection. This is different from connection issues generally

Expert from Spam Resource explains that examining the SMTP error codes is vital. A 550 code, coupled with messages like 'Relay denied' or 'User unknown,' often signifies a block. Analyzing these codes helps differentiate between address errors and deliberate blocking.

Documentation from RFC Editor details that SMTP server responses, particularly the 5xx range, indicate permanent failures. Examining the text part of the SMTP response provides crucial insights into the reason for failure, which could point to a domain block. Analyzing these error messages is critical for diagnosing deliverability issues.

Documentation from Microsoft explains that analyzing Non-Delivery Reports (NDRs) or bounce messages is crucial. Look for specific error codes or phrases indicating that your email server's IP address has been blocked by the recipient's email server.

Documentation from Google highlights the importance of adhering to best practices to avoid being marked as spam. Consistently failing to meet these guidelines can lead to blocks. It's important to follow their guidance on authentication and sender reputation to maintain deliverability.