Is Validity IP Certification worth the cost for email deliverability?

Email marketer from Quora User believes Validity certification can be beneficial if you are having deliverability issues, particularly if you are sending a large volume of emails. It provides feedback and helps with placement.

Marketer from Email Geeks agrees with Laura Atkins, but adds that certification programs can instill discipline in larger organizations by forcing different departments to work together, which can indirectly improve deliverability.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares experience where clients' delivery issues due to domain listing were resolved immediately upon certification, suggesting certification's impact on deliverability. Also, increased concurrent connections with Orange in France.

Email marketer from MailerQ responds that maintaining a good sender reputation can improve your email delivery and increase the ROI of your email marketing efforts. Although they don't specify the benefits of IP certification, it aligns with the common goal of keeping a good sending reputation and therefore improving your deliverability.

Marketer from Email Geeks has seen clients maintain residual benefits with Microsoft after dropping certification, despite initial certification being obtained to address Microsoft issues.

Marketer from Email Geeks expresses a strong appreciation for certification programs, highlighting their role in incentivizing companies to improve their email sending practices, providing ongoing insight, policing, and support. He notes that certification helps him as an MBP by reducing the need to educate senders.

Marketer from Email Geeks points out that the only way to access Microsoft SRD data is through the certification dashboard, which can be valuable for some senders.

Email marketer from Mailjet states that maintaining a good sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability, and while they don't directly address Validity IP certification, the article outlines the components that certification programs aim to validate and improve.

Email marketer from Email Vendor Selection highlights that Validity certification can provide benefits, including improved sender reputation and better deliverability, but the value needs to be assessed against its cost, the overall quality of your email program, and the specific deliverability challenges you face.

Marketer from Email Geeks touches on previous comments and highlights that the true value of certification lies in meeting the criteria required to achieve it, which includes cleaning up your list and implementing best practices. He suggests doing these things yourself and saving the certification costs.

Email marketer from GMass explains that one of the key factors of deliverability is having a good sending reputation, and IP certification can provide an ongoing insight, policing and support. It can provide good business incentives to improve a company's email sending reputation.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares results of an A/B test which showed minimal differences in email performance between certified and non-certified IPs, indicating that following certification rules is as effective as paying for certification.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow emphasizes the importance of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for deliverability, stating that certification can help ensure these technical aspects are correctly configured, though the user does not directly comment on Validity.

Email marketer from Reddit mentions that Validity certification can be helpful for getting better insights into Microsoft's Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) data, which is valuable for diagnosing and improving deliverability to Outlook.com/Hotmail users.

Email marketer from Litmus notes that sender reputation is critical for deliverability and that services like Validity's certification can help manage and improve that reputation, thus potentially justifying the cost for senders with significant deliverability challenges.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests certification provides peace of mind for Outlook.com deliverability and helps avoid random issues. In France, where Outlook.com is a significant portion of the target audience, certification's worth depends on the specific case.

Expert from Email Geeks shares her 20 years of deliverability experience, suggesting that IP certification is rarely necessary for achieving decent delivery. She notes that content, not IP reputation, is the primary driver of inbox placement, and while certification may help with rate limiting at Microsoft, it's often used by senders with dirty mailstreams. She concludes that the value lies in the clean-up process required for certification, which can be achieved with the right consultant without needing a certificate.

Expert from Spam Resource shares that Return Path (now Validity) certification can be useful, especially if you have a difficult sending situation or need to get your systems in better order and can be useful to help those who are co-reg and questionable opt-in. She says the ongoing checks and audits can force senders to improve their practices and the fees may be worth it.

Expert from Spam Resource responds to a direct question asking about return path certification which is now Validity. Steve says it is not a solution and he does not believe return path actually block anyone, but they have commercial agreements with certain ISPs to allow certified mail. He says its more about getting through the filters and into the inbox.

Expert from Email Geeks believes that Microsoft is still using certification as part of their throttling algorithm.

Documentation from Validity states that IP certification improves email deliverability by ensuring that emails are recognized as legitimate and trustworthy, leading to better inbox placement and higher engagement rates, but costs may need to be considered.

Documentation from Spamhaus mentions that maintaining a good IP reputation is essential for deliverability and that certification programs can help ensure that your IPs are not listed on blocklists, which can significantly impact email delivery rates.

Documentation from Microsoft highlights the importance of sender reputation and adherence to best practices for ensuring email deliverability to Outlook.com/Hotmail users, suggesting that certification can help demonstrate compliance with these practices, though it doesn't guarantee deliverability.

Documentation from RFC specifies best practices on Email Authentication via SPF, DKIM and DMARC as they are all industry standards for improving email deliverability by verifying that the emails are in fact sent by the named source, thus decreasing risks of being marked as spam.

Documentation from Google mentions the importance of following email authentication best practices (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and maintaining a clean sending reputation to improve deliverability to Gmail users, suggesting that certification can help demonstrate adherence to these best practices.