What are the best list validation services and when should I use them?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from NeverBounce.com states that list validation should be used to identify and remove invalid, risky, and low-quality email addresses from your marketing list. They say this leads to improved deliverability and higher engagement rates.
Email marketer from Medium shares to use email verification before sending emails. Verifying email addresses helps reduce bounce rate by deleting bad or invalid email addresses, which in turn protect sender reputation.
Email marketer from Litmus recommends regularly cleaning your email list to remove invalid and inactive email addresses to improve deliverability and engagement rates.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends researching Kickbox, Email Oversight, and Validity (formerly Bright Verify) when looking for validation companies.
Email marketer from Emailhippo.com shares that email verification helps prevent deliverability issues, protects sender reputation, and improves overall email marketing performance by removing invalid and risky email addresses.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce.net explains that list validation services should be used to remove invalid and harmful email addresses, reducing bounce rates and improving sender reputation. They also share that they should be used regularly to maintain a healthy email list.
Email marketer from Quora recommends using ZeroBounce or Hunter.io as email verification services to ensure email deliverability and avoid blacklisting.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that in their opinion list validation services can be useful but are not always accurate and to be wary of false positives, so should be used in conjunction with other list hygiene practices.
Email marketer from StackExchange shares that cleaning an email list helps improve sender reputation, reduce bounce rates, and increase engagement rates.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise advises focusing on permission practices and deliverability instead of relying solely on validation tools. They suggest focusing on good data collection and subscriber engagement as a more effective approach to managing email lists.
Expert from Email Geeks shares concerns about Clearout.io, noting the lack of transparent information about the company's founders and leadership. She is suspicious of companies that do not disclose who is behind them, and the LinkedIn connections appear to be from “less than permission based marketers”. She finds it weird that every link clicked on websites associated with them redirects through clearout.io
Expert from Email Geeks states that they do not generally recommend email validation. However, for clients who insist on it, they recommend Kickbox.
What the documentation says6Technical articles
Documentation from SendGrid explains that maintaining good email list hygiene is crucial for improving deliverability and protecting sender reputation. They recommend regularly cleaning your list to remove invalid and inactive email addresses.
Documentation from Kickbox.com explains that email verification helps reduce bounce rates, improve deliverability, protect sender reputation, and increase ROI by removing invalid and risky email addresses. They also suggest using it before sending any email campaign.
Documentation from Mailchimp shares that regularly cleaning your email list helps improve deliverability, reduce bounce rates, and increase engagement rates. They recommend removing inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses.
Documentation from MailerCheck.com shares that email verification is a process of checking an email address to see if it is valid and deliverable. This is done using a range of technologies, including syntax checks, domain checks, and mailbox pings.
Documentation from Hunter.io states that using an email verification tool is a way to improve email deliverability. They suggest to clean your email list regularly to remove invalid and risky email addresses.
Documentation from Microsoft suggests that keeping your email lists current and accurate helps reduce the risk of your emails being marked as junk. They suggest to regularly clean your lists to remove invalid or inactive email addresses.