How to resolve Office 365 SCL rating issues for corporate email from Google Workspace?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email Marketer from Litmus answers on the importance of separating transactional emails from marketing emails. This helps maintain a positive reputation for transactional emails, ensuring they are delivered reliably.
Email Marketer from Microsoft Learn explains that SCL is determined by the mail server using anti-spam filters, which assess message characteristics like spammy words, sender reputation, and content. High SCL values indicate a higher probability of spam.
Email Marketer from Reddit responds to high SCL issues, and suggests that if emails are consistently marked as SCL 9, check if your domain or IP has been added to a blocklist or if the content is triggering spam filters. Review the email content for potentially problematic keywords or links. He also recommends contacting Microsoft support.
Email Marketer from Sendgrid answers the importance of providing an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from your emails. Make the unsubscribe link clear and accessible in every email. This reduces spam complaints and improves sender reputation.
Email Marketer from Mailgun shares that regularly cleaning your email lists by removing inactive or unengaged subscribers. Sending emails to active and engaged users improves your sender reputation and reduces the chances of emails being marked as spam.
Email Marketer from MXToolbox shares on the importance of monitoring SCL (Spam Confidence Level) ratings of sent emails using tools like MXToolbox. This helps you to identify and address deliverability issues proactively.
Email Marketer from Email Geeks suggests having someone on the receiving end with a good Microsoft support contract submit a ticket about not getting the mail. Suggests leverage of a Microsoft Gold partner.
Email Marketer from EmailVendorSelection.com explains that signing up for feedback loops (FBLs) with Microsoft and other ISPs allows you to receive reports when users mark your emails as spam. Use this feedback to identify and remove problematic subscribers or content.
Email Marketer from Stack Overflow explains that gradual IP warm up can help to resolve Office 365 SCL rating issues. Slowly increase the volume of emails sent from new IP addresses to build a positive reputation with Microsoft. Start with small batches of emails to engaged users and gradually increase the volume over several weeks.
Email Marketer from Email Geeks shares their perspective about Microsoft model supporting corporate products. They mentions how Microsoft legit doesn’t have ANY free support beyond their forums. Mentions how their model is to only handled the most financially juicy support contracts and then let the rest go to the partner ecosystem and the forums where MVPs help folks for free to maintain their MVP status.
Email Marketer from HubSpot explains to ensure the content of your emails is relevant, valuable, and engaging for your recipients. Avoid using spammy keywords or phrases and ensure that your emails provide real value to your subscribers.
Email Marketer from Gmass shares if sending a large volume of emails, consider using dedicated IP addresses to isolate your sending reputation from other senders. This gives you more control over your deliverability and reputation.
What the experts say10Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks states that there's no "bat phone" for Microsoft issues due to legal risks. Suggests using the standard support channels initially, and then rarely contacting people directly.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests checking if someone's account has been compromised.
Expert from Word to the Wise stresses the importance of maintaining a clean and engaged subscriber list. Regularly removing inactive or unengaged subscribers can reduce complaint rates and improve sender reputation, positively impacting SCL scores.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that avoiding spam trigger words and phrases can improve SCL ratings. Ensure that your email content is relevant, valuable, and avoids overly aggressive or sales-oriented language.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that sender reputation is crucial and affected by various factors, including sending volume, complaint rates, and engagement. Addressing these factors directly can significantly impact SCL ratings.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that if you are sending a decent amount of email to Microsoft domains, it is very important that you are participating in their Junk Mail Reporting Program (JMRP). This is Microsoft’s Feedback Loop (FBL). Without being a part of Microsoft’s FBL, you won’t know if your recipients are marking your email as junk.
Expert from Email Geeks emphasizes that there is no "bat phone" for deliverability issues with Microsoft or Google. Escalation is not available just because a client is upset. He suggests to focus on data-driven solutions rather than seeking shortcuts.
Expert from Email Geeks recommends using sender.office.com as the entry point for O365 issues, even for filtering problems and not just blocking.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that implementing and correctly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for verifying sender identity. Proper authentication helps build trust with mailbox providers like Microsoft and can reduce the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests checking email authentication and cold lead emailing. Provides a link to Microsoft support but notes it's oriented toward blocking, not SCL issues. Mentions potential issues between Google Workspace and O365. Suggests checking domain reputation with GPT and considering a move to O365.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft Support shares that ensuring your sending IP address has a valid reverse DNS (PTR) record that matches your sending domain. This helps to verify the identity of your mail server and can improve your sending reputation with Office 365.
Documentation from Microsoft 365 Documentation shares that to improve sender reputation, ensure that the sending domain is properly authenticated using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Monitor your sending IP addresses and ensure they are not listed on any blocklists. Also, provide an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from your emails.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records authorize specific IP addresses to send emails on behalf of your domain. Ensure your SPF records are correctly configured to include all sending IP addresses used by your organization.
Documentation from Microsoft Documentation shares about the importance of segmenting email lists to target users with relevant content. Sending targeted emails improves engagement rates and reduces the likelihood of users marking emails as spam, thus helping to improve SCL ratings.