What does it mean if an IP address has a SenderScore of 10?

Summary

A SenderScore of 10 indicates a critically poor email sending reputation, leading to significant deliverability issues. Emails from such IPs are likely blocked or sent to spam. This stems from factors like spam complaints, blacklisting, poor list hygiene, low engagement, spam trap hits and possibly a compromised IP. While email providers like Google and Microsoft use their own systems, a low SenderScore correlates with a poor reputation on their platforms as well. Immediate action is crucial, including checking blacklists, investigating sending practices, verifying list hygiene, and potentially warming up the IP. Monitoring SenderScore and engaging in regular deliverability reviews are essential for maintaining a healthy reputation.

Key findings

  • Critically Poor Reputation: A SenderScore of 10 indicates a critically poor email sending reputation.
  • Deliverability Issues: This leads to significant deliverability issues, with emails likely being blocked or sent to spam.
  • Multiple Contributing Factors: Factors include spam complaints, blacklisting, poor list hygiene, low engagement, spam trap hits and possibly a compromised IP.
  • Correlation with Provider Reputation: A low SenderScore correlates with a poor reputation on major email provider platforms like Google and Microsoft.

Key considerations

  • Immediate Investigation: Immediate investigation into the cause of the low SenderScore is crucial.
  • Check Blacklists: Check blacklists to see if the IP is listed.
  • Review Sending Practices: Carefully review sending practices for anomalies and unsolicited emails.
  • Verify List Hygiene: Verify email list hygiene to ensure you're not sending to invalid or problematic addresses.
  • Warming: If the IP is new, consider warming it up gradually.
  • Monitor: Continuously monitor SenderScore and other deliverability metrics to maintain a healthy reputation.
  • Regular Deliverability Review: Engage in regular deliverability reviews

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

A SenderScore of 10 indicates a severe problem with an IP address's email sending reputation. This low score suggests that emails sent from this IP are likely being blocked by ISPs, filtered to spam folders, or not delivered at all. The causes can include high spam complaint rates, sending to invalid email addresses, blacklisting, low engagement, and potential IP compromise. Immediate action is needed to investigate and rectify the issues, including checking blacklists, reviewing sending practices, cleaning email lists, and potentially warming up the IP address. Monitoring SenderScore is crucial for maintaining healthy email deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Poor Reputation: A SenderScore of 10 indicates a very poor IP reputation, leading to deliverability issues.
  • Likely Blocking: ISPs are likely blocking or spam filtering emails from IPs with such low scores.
  • Multiple Causes: Low scores stem from various factors including spam complaints, invalid addresses, blacklists, and poor engagement.
  • Investigate Compromise: A very low score could also indicate the IP address has been compromised

Key considerations

  • Immediate Action: Take immediate action to investigate the cause and rectify the problems.
  • Check Blacklists: Check the IP address against multiple blacklist databases.
  • Review Sending: Review recent sending practices for anomalies and unsolicited emails.
  • List Hygiene: Clean email lists to remove invalid addresses and improve engagement.
  • Warm-Up Strategy: Consider warming up the IP address and setting up authenticated emails if it is a new IP.
  • Continuous Monitoring: Continuously monitor SenderScore and other deliverability metrics.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora recommends to check the IP against multiple blacklist databases and to investigate complaint feedback loops.

January 2023 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from SparkPost (now MessageBird) responds that a Sender Score of 10 signifies serious issues and the IP address likely has a poor reputation. They recommend improving sending practices by authenticating email, cleaning email lists, and warming up new IPs.

September 2022 - SparkPost
Marketer view

Email marketer from Webmaster Forum responds that if an IP has a Sender Score of 10, you need to immediately investigate for potential compromise, check blacklists, and ensure you are not sending unsolicited emails.

September 2021 - Webmaster Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that a Sender Score of 10 indicates that the IP is likely being blocked by many ISPs or filtered to the spam folder and that almost no emails are delivered to the inbox.

February 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Small Business Chron shares the importance of maintaining a healthy SenderScore by regularly cleaning email lists, segmenting audiences, and personalizing content.

June 2021 - Small Business Chron
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that a low Sender Score could be due to various factors including spam complaints, sending to invalid email addresses (high bounce rate), being listed on blacklists, and low engagement rates.

September 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from an Email Provider Knowledge Base explains that a Sender Score of 10 would mean almost every mail you send is going to get marked as spam, as ISPs will have little to no trust of your IP address and domains.

April 2022 - Email Provider Knowledge Base
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that they found a bounce referencing SenderScore from bigpond.com indicating a low SenderScore.

July 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks asks if the IP is new, suggesting low scores are common on unwarmed IPs after untargeted blasts.

November 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from GlockApps states the importance of monitoring Senderscore as part of a wider deliverability review.

January 2024 - GlockApps
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks confirms the SenderScore is 10.

November 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum answers that with a Sender Score of 10, even low volume sending will likely result in deliverability issues, as the negative reputation precedes the volume.

December 2024 - Email Marketing Forum

What the experts say
3Expert opinions

A SenderScore of 10 is a strong indicator of significant deliverability problems, potentially stemming from issues like blocklisting, high complaint rates, or spam trap hits. While Sender Score is just one data point among many used by ISPs to determine email placement, such a low score warrants immediate investigation. This investigation should include checking blocklist status, reviewing sending practices for anomalies, and verifying email list hygiene. Temporarily reducing sending volume is also advised to allow for remediation.

Key opinions

  • Significant Problems: A SenderScore of 10 indicates significant problems with sending practices and deliverability.
  • Multiple Factors: Low scores can be caused by blocklisting, high complaint rates, or hitting spam traps.
  • Strong Indicator: A very low Sender Score is a strong indicator of deliverability issues.

Key considerations

  • Immediate Investigation: Immediately investigate the cause of the low Sender Score.
  • Check Blocklists: Check blocklist status to see if the IP is listed.
  • Review Sending: Review recent sending practices for anomalies or issues.
  • Verify List Hygiene: Verify email list hygiene to ensure you're not sending to invalid or problematic addresses.
  • Reduce Volume: Temporarily reduce sending volume to allow for investigation and remediation.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks responds that SenderScore is a useful data point.

April 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource recommends immediate investigation into the cause, including checking blocklist status, reviewing recent sending practices for anomalies, and verifying email list hygiene. It's also recommended to temporarily reduce sending volume to allow for investigation and remediation.

January 2025 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a low sender score of 10 indicates significant problems with sending practices, potentially including being listed on blocklists, high complaint rates, or hitting spam traps. They emphasize that Sender Score is just one of many signals ISPs use, but a very low score is a strong indicator of deliverability problems.

December 2023 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

A SenderScore of 10 is a very poor rating, signaling significant issues with sending practices that can negatively impact email deliverability. While major email providers like Google and Microsoft don't directly use SenderScore, they use similar metrics for assessing IP reputation, and a low SenderScore often correlates with a poor reputation according to their systems. Senderscore metrics include spam complaints, external blacklists, sending infrastructure, spam trap hits and sending volumes.

Key findings

  • Very Poor Score: A SenderScore of 10 is considered a very poor rating.
  • Significant Issues: Indicates significant issues with sending practices.
  • Impacts Deliverability: Can lead to deliverability problems.
  • Correlates with Poor Reputation: Correlates with poor IP reputation, even if not directly used by Google or Microsoft.
  • Metrics: Senderscore measures metrics including spam complaints, external blacklists, your infrastructure, spam trap hits and sending volumes.

Key considerations

  • Improve Sending Practices: Address and improve sending practices to improve IP reputation.
  • Monitor Reputation: Monitor IP reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS.
  • Address Contributing Factors: Identify and address the factors contributing to the low score, such as spam complaints or blacklisting.
Technical article

Documentation from Senderscore FAQ explains that Senderscore measure's factors include complaints, external blacklists, your infrastructure, spam trap hits and sending volumes.

November 2021 - Senderscore FAQ
Technical article

Documentation from Google explains that while they don't use Sender Score directly, a low Sender Score often correlates with poor IP reputation and that Google uses its own similar metrics to assess senders, which can impact deliverability to Gmail users.

October 2022 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft SNDS explains that although they don't directly use Senderscore, but the general metrics that they use for IP reputation are similar, so a low Senderscore would correspond to low IP reputation. Microsoft's Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) provides data about your IP's reputation with Microsoft.

August 2021 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from Validity, acquired ReturnPath, explains that a Sender Score of 10 is very poor and indicates significant issues with sending practices, potentially leading to deliverability problems.

September 2023 - Validity