Should I worry about test emails going to junk folders on irrelevant ISPs?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailOctopus Blog explains that if the test emails are landing in the junk folders of ISPs that are not relevant to your target audience, it's generally not a cause for major concern. Focus on deliverability for ISPs where your subscribers are located.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog shares that you should prioritize monitoring deliverability to the ISPs your subscribers use. If the deliverability is good with those, then you shouldn't worry about other less used ones.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that if you're primarily targeting US subscribers, focus on deliverability to Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook. Ignore the results from Russian or German ISPs.
Email marketer from an Email Marketing Forum suggests segmenting your test list by ISP to get more accurate deliverability data for each provider. Irrelevant ISPs can be ignored afterward.
Email marketer from GlockApps shares that if your test emails are hitting the junk folder in irrelevant ISPs, this doesn't mean that you have deliverability problems on the major email providers. They recommend prioritizing inbox placement monitoring on Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, and Outlook.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains you should ensure your emails reach the inboxes of your subscribers, which might not include all ISPs. You may want to look at the deliverability for particular ISP's but only for the ones that matter.
Email marketer from Litmus explains you should monitor inbox placement with tools for the key ISPs. Focus on the ISPs that host the majority of your subscribers’ inboxes to make sure you have proper deliverability.
Email marketer from Sendinblue Blog explains that test emails sent to a large number of spam traps or irrelevant ISPs can negatively affect your sender reputation. Limit tests to representative inboxes.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce shares that deliverability testing checks where emails land across various ISPs and mail clients. You may not need to take action based on negative tests from non-targetted providers.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spamresource emphasizes focusing on the ISPs relevant to your subscriber base. Deliverability issues with less relevant ISPs should not be a major concern.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if the junk folders are from mailbox providers where you don't have subscribers, you generally don't need to be concerned.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that deliverability success can in theory vary between Gsuite and Gmail, but in practice, they usually tend to show the same results.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that seed list tests have limitations, as some providers may treat seed accounts differently from real users. Furthermore, deliverability issues to certain test accounts don't necessarily reflect the experience of actual subscribers at the same ISP.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that Gmail's spam filters are complex and take into account numerous factors. Sending test emails to different ISPs may not accurately reflect how Gmail will treat your emails.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that your sender reputation is ISP-specific. Problems at one ISP may not affect your reputation at another.
Documentation from RFC Editor about SMTP standards explain that mail server behavior can vary widely. Deliverability to one ISP doesn't guarantee deliverability to another.
Documentation from Microsoft SNDS highlights monitoring your sender reputation with Microsoft. If you have no subscribers using Microsoft services then those are irrelevant.