Is a dedicated IP beneficial for high-volume email sending even without deliverability issues?

Summary

The general consensus is that dedicated IPs offer significant benefits, even for high-volume senders who don't currently face deliverability issues. The primary advantage is greater control over sender reputation. This includes independence from the negative impacts of shared IP pools, the ability to proactively manage and improve deliverability, and segmentation for different types of email. These factors allow senders to build and maintain their reputation more effectively and prevent future deliverability problems. While dedicated IPs require a warm-up period and proper setup for optimum performance, they ultimately allow senders to bypass the poor sending practices of others, particularly beneficial for cold email campaigns.

Key findings

  • Enhanced Reputation Control: Dedicated IPs provide significantly more control over sender reputation, allowing for the building and maintenance of an independent reputation.
  • Isolation from Negative Impacts: Dedicated IPs isolate senders from the negative effects of shared IP environments and the actions of other senders.
  • Improved Deliverability and Scalability: Dedicated IPs facilitate improved deliverability and enable scaling of email sending volume while maintaining a good reputation.
  • Proactive Reputation Management: A dedicated IP allows for proactive management and improvement of sender reputation, mitigating potential future deliverability issues.
  • Segmentation Benefits: Dedicated IP pools enable the segmentation of sending and separate reputation management for different types of email.

Key considerations

  • Warm-up Requirement: Dedicated IPs require a warm-up period to establish a sending reputation and build trust with ISPs.
  • Proper Setup and Configuration: Proper setup and configuration are essential to realize the benefits of a dedicated IP.
  • Quality Sending Practices: Maintaining good sending practices is critical for sustaining a positive IP reputation. Ensure a quality mail feed and predictable sending volumes.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

The consensus is that a dedicated IP address offers significant benefits even for high-volume senders without current deliverability issues. These benefits primarily revolve around greater control over sender reputation, independence from the negative impacts of shared IP environments, and the ability to proactively manage and improve deliverability for the long term. While subdomain warmups are primarily for dedicated IPs, these IPs also enable more predictable scaling of email volume and allow segmentation of sending for targeted reputation management. It is important to follow proper setup and warmup procedures to fully realize the benefits of a dedicated IP.

Key opinions

  • Reputation Control: Dedicated IPs provide better control over sender reputation, allowing senders to build and maintain their own independent reputation.
  • Deliverability Improvement: Dedicated IPs can improve deliverability by isolating the sender's reputation from the actions of other senders on shared IPs.
  • Scalability: Dedicated IPs are beneficial for scaling email sending volume, providing more control over the sending reputation at high volumes.
  • Proactive Management: Moving to a dedicated IP proactively allows senders to manage and improve their sender reputation for long-term benefits, even without current deliverability problems.
  • Bypassing Poor Practices: Dedicated IPs allow senders to bypass the poor sending practices of other users, especially relevant for cold email campaigns.

Key considerations

  • Proper Setup: It's crucial to follow the proper setup for the dedicated IP to become beneficial, ensuring it will help more rather than harm your deliverability.
  • Warmup Required: Dedicated IPs require a warm-up period to establish a sending reputation with ISPs, involving a gradual increase in sending volume.
  • Quality Mail Feed: It's important to gradually introduce your quality mail feed to providers and increase sending volumes in a predictable way.
  • Segmentation: Consider segmenting sending by using dedicated IP pools that enable segmentation of your sending and maintain separate reputations for different types of email.
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that subdomain warmups are really meant for dedicated IPs. For a new domain on a shared IP, you just need a cadence that gradually introduces your quality mail feed to providers and increase send volumes in a predictable way. Unless sending unsolicited emails, with tiny volumes, there shouldn't be a problem.

March 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Woodpecker explains that if sending cold emails dedicated IPs are useful because if these emails are marked as spam it will only affect your reputation not other people on a shared IP address.

August 2024 - Woodpecker
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that having a dedicated IP allows you to manage your domain’s reputation and helps prevent you from being impacted by other senders’ actions.

October 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that a dedicated IP address allows you to protect your sender reputation and avoid being negatively affected by the sending habits of other users on a shared IP address.

February 2024 - EmailOnAcid
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares their experience, stating they moved to a dedicated IP even without deliverability issues to proactively manage and improve their sender reputation for long-term benefits.

July 2023 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus discusses how having a dedicated IP address allows you to improve your email deliverability since they only affect your score and nobody elses.

May 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that having a dedicated IP address improves deliverability because you aren't sharing an IP with anyone else. This means the actions of others do not affect your reputation.

June 2021 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that dedicated IPs offer better control over sender reputation, potentially leading to improved deliverability even without existing issues. It allows you to build and maintain your own reputation independently.

June 2022 - Neil Patel
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass shares that dedicated IPs are helpful as they allow you to bypass the poor sending practices of other users. However you need to ensure to follow the proper setup for it to actually become beneficial.

January 2023 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign suggests that dedicated IPs are beneficial for scaling email sending volume, as it allows for more control over the sending reputation, which is crucial when sending large volumes of email.

September 2023 - ActiveCampaign

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

Experts agree that a dedicated IP is beneficial, even without existing deliverability issues. The main advantage lies in gaining greater control over your sending reputation. This isolation from other senders' activities allows you to manage your own reputation, which is especially useful for high-volume senders, and proactively prevent future deliverability problems.

Key opinions

  • Control Over Reputation: Dedicated IPs offer increased control over sender reputation.
  • Reputation Isolation: Dedicated IPs isolate your email program's reputation from other senders.
  • Proactive Deliverability: A dedicated IP can prevent potential future deliverability problems.

Key considerations

  • Volume Matters: Dedicated IPs are particularly useful for high-volume senders.
  • Reputation Management: A dedicated IP is only as good as the management applied to it - this means warm-up is very important.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that a dedicated IP grants greater control over your sending reputation, enabling you to isolate your email program's reputation from other senders, potentially preventing deliverability issues.

May 2021 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests a dedicated IP is a great idea.

May 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise responds that even without current deliverability problems, a dedicated IP offers the advantage of having your own reputation and being in control of that reputation. This is particularly useful for high-volume senders.

August 2022 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Email service provider documentation emphasizes that dedicated IPs offer control over sender reputation, benefiting high-volume senders even without existing deliverability issues. They provide independence from shared IP pools and allow for reputation management, segmentation for different email types, and improved deliverability, particularly to major providers like Outlook/Hotmail. However, they also require a warm-up period to build trust with ISPs.

Key findings

  • Full Reputation Control: Dedicated IPs grant full control over sender reputation.
  • Independence: Dedicated IPs provide independence from shared IP pools.
  • Segmentation Possible: Dedicated IP pools enable sending segmentation for different email types.
  • Essential for High Volume: Dedicated IPs are essential for high-volume senders.
  • Improved Deliverability: Dedicated IPs can improve deliverability to major providers like Outlook/Hotmail.

Key considerations

  • Warm-up Required: Dedicated IPs require a warm-up period to establish a sending reputation.
  • Reputation Management: Maintaining a good IP reputation is essential for deliverability, implying active management.
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that your IP reputation significantly impacts deliverability to Outlook/Hotmail. A dedicated IP provides greater control in managing your sender reputation, potentially improving deliverability.

July 2023 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from Amazon SES explains that using dedicated IP pools allows you to segment your sending and maintain separate reputations for different types of email, which can be beneficial even without deliverability issues, for organizational purposes.

November 2021 - Amazon SES
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost notes that dedicated IPs require a warm-up period to establish a sending reputation. This involves gradually increasing sending volume to build trust with ISPs, but it gives you the control to set your own reputation.

November 2023 - SparkPost
Technical article

Documentation from SendGrid explains that a dedicated IP allows full control over your sending reputation, which is essential for high-volume senders. It provides independence from shared IP pools and potential negative impacts from other senders.

October 2021 - SendGrid
Technical article

Documentation from Google describes that maintaining a good IP reputation is essential for deliverability. While not explicitly about dedicated IPs, it implies that having control over your IP's reputation, as offered by a dedicated IP, is advantageous.

February 2022 - Google