How to troubleshoot shared IP reputation issues with Gmail when domain reputation is healthy but email click rates are declining?

Summary

When experiencing declining click rates despite a healthy domain reputation with Gmail and suspecting shared IP issues, a comprehensive approach is required. Experts and documentation emphasize monitoring sending reputation via Google Postmaster Tools, while acknowledging Gmail's focus on domain reputation (DKIM, SPF). A fair IP reputation might not be problematic if emails still reach the inbox. However, factors beyond deliverability play a crucial role: content relevance, audience segmentation, list hygiene, email design, and sending practices. In shared hosting, IP reputation is often out of direct control, making dedicated IPs or reputable ESPs attractive. Low engagement directly impacts deliverability. Strategies include A/B testing, analyzing cohort data, setting up feedback loops, maintaining consistent sending volumes, and adhering to authentication protocols (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) and DMARC reporting.

Key findings

  • Domain Reputation Matters Most: Gmail prioritizes domain reputation (DKIM, SPF) over IP reputation; ensure these are correctly configured.
  • Inboxing is a Key Indicator: If emails reach the inbox despite a 'fair' IP reputation, it may not be the primary issue.
  • Shared IPs Limit Control: On shared hosting, IP reputation is less controllable, requiring careful monitoring and mitigation strategies.
  • Engagement Drives Deliverability: Low email engagement (opens, clicks) significantly harms deliverability, necessitating relevant and targeted campaigns.
  • Hygiene & Segmentation are Vital: Maintaining excellent list hygiene and effective segmentation are crucial for maximizing engagement and minimizing reputation damage.
  • Postmaster Tools is Key: Leverage Google Postmaster Tools is essential for monitoring sending reputation and identifying issues.

Key considerations

  • Dedicated IP: Consider transitioning to a dedicated IP address to gain more control over your sending reputation.
  • Evaluate ESP: Assess the limitations of your current ESP and explore reputable alternatives that prioritize deliverability.
  • Content Overhaul: Revamp email content to align with evolving audience interests, using A/B testing to optimize subject lines and calls-to-action.
  • Cohort Analysis: Implement cohort analysis to understand user engagement over time and identify acquisition issues contributing to declining clicks.
  • Authentication Protocols: Ensure your email authentication protocols (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) are correctly configured and actively monitored.
  • Microsoft Support: If experiencing issues with Microsoft deliverability, explore resources through their sender support and raising support tickets where possible.
  • Monitor DMARC Reporting: Be sure to monitor your DMARC reporting to identify authentication failures and spoofing attempts.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

When troubleshooting shared IP reputation issues with Gmail despite a healthy domain reputation and declining click rates, several factors beyond basic deliverability come into play. Monitoring domain reputation via Google Postmaster Tools is essential, but a lower shared IP reputation doesn't always indicate a problem if emails are still inboxing. Declining click rates can stem from audience aging, irrelevant content, poor segmentation, inadequate list hygiene, email design issues, lack of A/B testing, sudden increase in sending volume and undetected spam complaints. It's also beneficial to ensure email authentication protocols are properly configured. Actively managing list hygiene, segmenting audiences, ensuring content relevance, and continuously optimizing email design and sending practices is critical for maintaining positive engagement and deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor domain and IP reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
  • Content Relevance: Ensure email content aligns with the evolving interests and preferences of your audience.
  • Segmentation: Re-evaluate and refine audience segmentation strategies to deliver more targeted content.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain excellent email list hygiene by regularly removing unengaged subscribers.
  • Email Design: Ensure email designs are responsive and render correctly across various devices and email clients.
  • A/B Testing: Consistently A/B test different elements of your emails to optimize for higher click-through rates.
  • Audience Aging: Consider the impact of audience aging within segments on click rates, and address acquisition strategies.
  • Feedback Loops: Implement feedback loops with major ISPs to identify and address spam complaints and other delivery issues.

Key considerations

  • Inboxing Status: If emails are still reaching the inbox despite a fair IP reputation, the issue might not be deliverability-related.
  • ESP Limitations: If using a shared IP, consider the limitations imposed by your ESP and explore options like dedicated IPs.
  • Cohort Analysis: Analyze cohort graphs to understand user activity and acquisition funnels for better audience engagement.
  • Authentication: Ensure DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records are properly configured and monitored to improve deliverability and trust.
  • Sending Volume: Avoid sudden spikes in email volume to maintain IP reputation, especially when using shared IPs.
  • Seed Testing: Perform seed testing to identify and address spam placement problems before subscribers receive the email.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora suggests gradually increasing sending volume to maintain IP reputation. Sudden spikes in email volume can negatively impact IP reputation, even with a healthy domain reputation.

February 2022 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailchimp answers that declining click rates may be related to poor segmentation. Re-evaluate your audience segmentation strategy to send more targeted and relevant content to specific groups, which can significantly improve engagement.

December 2022 - Mailchimp
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus Blog shares that email design and rendering issues can deter clicks. Ensure your emails are responsive and display correctly across various devices and email clients to provide a seamless user experience.

March 2022 - Litmus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that maintaining excellent email list hygiene is important. Regularly remove unengaged subscribers. Lower engagement can impact your overall sending reputation and click-through rates, even with a good domain reputation.

May 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks says that if the domain reputation is fine in Google Postmaster Tools and only the shared IPs have a lower reputation, and the ESP won't move you to a different pool of shared IPs, it might not be a major issue if emails are still inboxing. However, reduced open/click/conversion rates or spam placement in seed tests could indicate problems. Recommends pushing the ESP for a different IP pool or considering a dedicated IP.

August 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from MarketingProfs suggests using A/B testing is important. Consistently A/B test different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, calls-to-action, and content, to optimize for higher click-through rates and engagement.

August 2024 - MarketingProfs
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that a degradation in clicks over time is often due to audience aging within a segment, rather than deliverability issues, and suggests analyzing cohort graphs to understand user activity and acquisition funnels.

July 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that setting up feedback loops with major ISPs like Gmail can provide insights into why your emails are not performing well, even with a good domain reputation. This helps identify potential issues like spam complaints or content triggers.

April 2023 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that declining click rates, despite good deliverability, can often be attributed to content relevance. Ensure your email content aligns with your audience's evolving interests and preferences, and A/B test subject lines and calls to action.

August 2023 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests signing up for Google Postmaster Tools to monitor domain reputation.

April 2021 - Email Geeks

What the experts say
6Expert opinions

When facing shared IP reputation challenges with Gmail, despite a healthy domain reputation but declining click rates, several key insights emerge from experts. Gmail prioritizes domain reputation (DKIM, SPF) over IP reputation, and a 'fair' IP reputation may not be an issue if emails are still inboxing. On shared hosting, IP reputation control is limited, making monitoring and considering a dedicated IP or reputable ESP crucial. Low engagement rates severely impact deliverability, emphasizing the need for relevant content and targeted campaigns. Consistent sending practices, coupled with metric analysis and data cleaning to only email engaged users, is important.

Key opinions

  • Domain over IP: Gmail prioritizes domain reputation (DKIM, SPF) over IP reputation.
  • Inboxing is Key: If emails are inboxing, a 'fair' IP reputation may not be problematic.
  • Shared IP Limitations: Shared hosting limits IP reputation control, necessitating careful monitoring.
  • Engagement Matters: Low engagement (opens/clicks) negatively impacts deliverability.
  • Clean Data: Consistent sending practices require metric analysis and data cleaning for engaged users.

Key considerations

  • Dedicated IP: Consider a dedicated IP or reputable ESP to bypass shared IP issues.
  • Content Relevance: Improve subscriber engagement through relevant content and targeted campaigns.
  • DKIM/SPF: Ensure DKIM and SPF domains are properly configured.
  • Monitor Sending: Carefully monitor sending practices to avoid negative impact from shared IPs.
  • Metric Analysis: Continuously analyze engagement metrics to refine sending strategies.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that on shared hosting environments, IP reputation is often out of your direct control. Monitor your sending practices closely and consider using a dedicated IP or a reputable email service provider to mitigate the impact of other users on the shared IP.

September 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise answers that consistent sending practices, and a solid understanding of your metrics is important. Use your engagement metrics to clean your data and ensure you are only emailing those who want to be emailed.

February 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks says that if emails are reaching the inbox, the fair IP reputation is just an interesting data point and confirms that Gmail deliverability depends more on domain reputation than IP reputation.

December 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks says that if emails are reaching the inbox, there is no need to change IPs.

October 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that Gmail focuses more on domain reputation (DKIM and SPF) than IP reputation. He suggests ensuring DKIM and SPF domains belong to the sender and checking domain reputation in Google Postmaster Tools, as shared SPF domains across multiple clients can cause issues. Submitting a ticket to Gmail has a low chance of resolution.

January 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that low engagement rates (opens and clicks) significantly impact deliverability, even with a strong domain reputation. Focus on improving subscriber engagement through relevant content and targeted campaigns to signal positive sender reputation to Gmail.

February 2025 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Troubleshooting shared IP reputation issues with Gmail when domain reputation is healthy, but email click rates are declining requires a multi-faceted approach, according to various documentation sources. Google Postmaster Tools is essential for monitoring your sending reputation, with a focus on domain reputation, as Gmail prioritizes it. Shared IP reputation can still impact deliverability if other users engage in poor practices, suggesting a dedicated IP for greater control. Utilizing Microsoft's sender support and raising support tickets is recommended for deliverability issues. Properly configuring DKIM, SPF, and DMARC email authentication protocols is crucial for improving deliverability and trust. Implementing and monitoring DMARC reporting provides insights into authentication failures and potential spoofing attempts, protecting your domain's reputation.

Key findings

  • Postmaster Tools: Google Postmaster Tools is essential for monitoring sending reputation.
  • Domain Priority: Gmail prioritizes domain reputation over IP reputation.
  • Shared IP Risks: Shared IP reputation can be affected by other users' poor sending practices.
  • Authentication: Correctly configured DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are crucial for deliverability and trust.
  • DMARC Reporting: DMARC reporting provides insights into authentication failures and spoofing attempts.

Key considerations

  • Dedicated IP: Consider warming up a dedicated IP for greater control over sending reputation.
  • Microsoft Support: Utilize Microsoft's sender support resources and raise support tickets if needed.
  • Incident Investigation: Investigate sending practices immediately if there's a sudden drop in reputation.
  • Trust Establishment: Ensure proper configuration of authentication to establish a high level of trust with email providers.
  • Reputation Defence: Proactively defend your domain reputation by monitoring and addressing DMARC reports.
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains the importance of implementing and monitoring DMARC reporting. Analysing DMARC reports provides valuable insights into authentication failures and potential spoofing attempts, helping to protect your domain's reputation.

May 2021 - RFC
Technical article

Documentation from Gmail Help explains that monitoring your sending reputation using Google Postmaster Tools is essential. Focus on domain reputation as Gmail prioritizes it over IP reputation. A sudden drop in reputation requires immediate investigation into sending practices.

February 2022 - Gmail Help
Technical article

Documentation from SendGrid Documentation explains that while a healthy domain reputation is crucial, shared IP reputation can still impact deliverability, especially if other users on the shared IP are engaging in poor sending practices. Consider warming up a dedicated IP to gain more control over your sending reputation.

December 2022 - SendGrid Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft mentions using their sender support resources to troubleshoot delivery issues, and if IP reputation is an issue there are support tickets you can raise with them.

January 2025 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost explains the importance of DKIM, SPF, and DMARC. Ensure these email authentication protocols are correctly configured for your domain to improve deliverability and trust with email providers.

February 2024 - SparkPost