How to improve email deliverability to government (.gov) domains?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from SendPulse Blog advises cleaning your email list to remove invalid or inactive .gov email addresses. Sending to these addresses can hurt your sender reputation and deliverability.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog suggests testing your email rendering across different email clients and devices commonly used by .gov employees. Ensuring proper rendering improves user experience and reduces the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.
Email marketer from GlockApps Blog emphasizes the importance of monitoring your sender reputation. High bounce rates and spam complaints from .gov domains can significantly damage your reputation, leading to decreased deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that Government domains tend to have strict 'For Business Use Only' policies and rules surrounding opt-in.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog recommends authenticating your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability to government domains. This helps prove that your emails are legitimate and not spoofed.
Email marketer from Reddit recommends warming up your IP address if you're sending a large volume of emails to .gov domains from a new IP. This involves gradually increasing your sending volume to build a positive reputation.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that providing clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe links in your emails helps recipients easily opt-out if they no longer wish to receive your emails. This reduces spam complaints and improves your sender reputation with .gov domains.
Email marketer from StackExchange explains that setting up feedback loops with .gov email providers allows you to receive notifications about spam complaints, enabling you to address issues promptly and improve your deliverability.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid Blog advises avoiding spam trigger words in your email content. Government domains often have aggressive spam filters that flag emails containing such words, impacting deliverability.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that meticulous list hygiene is essential for .gov deliverability. This includes implementing confirmed opt-in, promptly removing unsubscribed recipients, and actively suppressing known complainers or invalid email addresses. Regular list cleaning helps maintain a healthy sender reputation and avoid being flagged as spam by .gov email servers.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if emails are related to the jobs of government offices or sponsored by the government, it's easier to get whitelisted. If not, they suggest getting opt-in from a non .gov domain for easier deliverability.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests checking where the domains are hosted, noting that many .gov emails are run through Office365 and Google Apps, potentially making inbox delivery easier than if managed by the agency.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that maintaining a strong sender reputation is crucial when sending to .gov domains. They emphasize the importance of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and consistently monitoring your sender score. High complaint rates and bounces can severely impact your ability to reach .gov inboxes.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that understanding and implementing DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) helps ensure that only legitimate emails are delivered to .gov recipients. DMARC allows domain owners to specify how email receivers should handle emails that fail authentication checks.
Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains that to improve deliverability in Office 365, ensure that your sending domain is properly configured with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. It also recommends monitoring your sending reputation and addressing any spam complaints promptly for .gov recipients.
Documentation from Google Workspace Support states that bulk senders should adhere to Gmail's bulk sender guidelines to ensure deliverability to .gov addresses that use Gmail. These guidelines include authentication, list management, and complaint handling.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that adhering to SMTP standards (defined in various RFCs) helps ensure proper email formatting and delivery. This is crucial for reliable deliverability to .gov domains, as they often have strict filtering rules.