What causes bounce spikes on French ISPs like Orange, SFR & La Poste, and how can I troubleshoot them?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Talos Intelligence explains that a good step to troubleshoot spikes is to check the IP and Domain reputation, and that a bad reputation will cause the French ISPs to block the email.
Email marketer from MailerCheck shares that deliverability issues with French ISPs often stem from poor IP reputation, improper email authentication, or spammy content. They advise closely monitoring blacklist status and adjusting content to comply with French anti-spam regulations.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests the issue with multiple French ISPs (Orange, SFR & La Poste) could be related to Vade and advises checking the full SMTP replies.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that deliverability issues with French ISPs often stem from strict DMARC policies or content triggers. They advise closely monitoring sender reputation and adjusting content to align with French cultural sensitivities.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that email deliverability in France requires adapting to local cultural nuances and ISP-specific filtering practices. They suggest using Litmus' email testing tools to ensure emails render correctly across different devices and email clients used in France.
Email marketer from GlockApps shares that monitoring IP reputation is crucial for deliverability in France due to strict ISP filtering policies. They recommend using GlockApps' tools to track IP reputation, identify blacklist issues, and simulate inbox placement across different French ISPs.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that improving deliverability to French ISPs requires careful monitoring of sender reputation, engagement metrics, and adherence to best practices. They suggest using Mailjet's deliverability tools to identify and address any issues.
Email marketer from Validity explains that sender reputation with French ISPs is influenced by factors such as email volume, complaint rates, and engagement metrics. They recommend regularly monitoring these metrics and adjusting sending practices to maintain a positive reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that the raw bounce reason should be visible within the Klaviyo app and that Klaviyo support should be able to provide instructions on how to find it. They note that logs are only accessible for 14 days. They also suggest looking at the raw JSON of the bounce event on the profile to see the raw reason there.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests that bounce spikes on French ISPs could be due to aggressive spam filtering, sender reputation issues, content issues, or temporary server problems on the recipient side. They recommend checking bounce codes for more specific information.
Email marketer from SparkPost explains that common reasons for deliverability challenges often involve poor list hygiene, high spam complaint rates, or sudden changes in sending volume. They advise senders to regularly clean their email lists and gradually ramp up sending volume to establish a positive sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that SMTP replies are found in SMTP logs. If using an ESP, the ESP may hide them, but their documentation might provide a way to access them. They also shared a link to the SMTP Field Manual for understanding the meaning of SMTP replies and a link to the Vade Sender Tool, suggesting the ESP should use it to contact Vade.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that improving email deliverability in France involves optimizing sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), segmenting email lists, and personalizing email content. They recommend using Sendinblue's platform to manage email campaigns and track deliverability metrics.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource advises that to troubleshoot bounce spikes you should, Check bounce codes and error messages, Validate your email list to remove inactive or invalid addresses, Review your sending infrastructure and email authentication, Monitor your sender reputation, Test email content and subject lines, Implement feedback loops and unsubscribe mechanisms and Analyze engagement metrics.
Expert from Email Geeks recommends asking SFMC support for examples of raw bounce messages or SMTP bounce replies for the domains in question and reviewing the bounce message data, which typically contains human-readable text and a link to more information.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that bounce categorization is done by the ESP platform based on their own rules and is essentially a 'best guess'. They emphasize that a raw bounce message always exists and contains more information, regardless of whether it's readily found.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that deliverability issues with French ISPs often arise from stringent filtering based on sender reputation, content, and engagement. She advises senders to focus on building a positive reputation, authenticating their emails correctly, and tailoring their content to meet French cultural expectations.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Orange shares that Orange employs multiple layers of spam filtering, including blacklists, content analysis, and user reports. Senders should review their sending practices and ensure compliance with Orange's guidelines to avoid being blocked.
Documentation from RFC explains that bounce spikes are often related to SMTP error codes returned by the receiving mail server. Analyzing these codes can provide valuable insights into the reasons for delivery failures, such as temporary server outages or permanent blocking due to spam-like content.
Documentation from SFR explains that SFR uses a combination of reputation-based filtering, content analysis, and user feedback to filter spam. Senders experiencing deliverability issues should ensure their IP addresses are not blacklisted and their email content is not flagged as spam.
Documentation from La Poste shares that La Poste uses a combination of technical measures and user feedback to protect its users from spam and phishing. Senders experiencing deliverability issues should check their IP reputation and ensure their emails are properly authenticated.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that bounce email messages include an error code and a description explaining why the email was not delivered. Analyzing these messages provides valuable information on the specific delivery issue, such as a full mailbox or spam filtering.