What happened with Microsoft's email filters and how did it affect inbox placement?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet recommends using feedback loops to monitor complaints and unsubscribe users to improve deliverability.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks Community mentions that certain words and phrases in email content can trigger Microsoft's spam filters, leading to lower inbox placement. She recommends A/B testing content.
Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests using a dedicated IP address to build a good reputation and prevent being affected by other senders' practices, leading to improved deliverability to Microsoft inboxes.
Email marketer from StackExchange explains that if your sending IP address is blacklisted, your emails will likely be filtered as spam by Microsoft. He suggests checking your IP against common blacklists.
Email marketer from Email Deliverability Blog suggests that not having proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can cause Microsoft to filter your emails as spam. Implementing these protocols is crucial for deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Experts Forum recommends practicing good list hygiene by regularly removing inactive or unengaged subscribers, as this can improve your sender reputation with Microsoft.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Tips Blog shares that low user engagement (e.g., low open rates, high deletion rates) can negatively impact your sender reputation with Microsoft, leading to deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that Microsoft uses a SmartScreen filter which learns from user behavior. If users mark emails as junk, it negatively impacts future deliverability for that sender.
Email marketer from Email Geeks expresses concern that the increased inboxing has led to MUCH more people hitting the junk button and that MS might block senders based on those junk reports.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that deliverability issues with Microsoft services are sometimes temporary glitches that resolve themselves as their systems self-correct and adjust to new patterns in email traffic.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes that maintaining a good sending reputation is crucial for deliverability at Microsoft. She recommends actively monitoring and addressing any reputation issues promptly.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that Microsoft sometimes blocks entire domains for no apparent reason, impacting inbox placement even for legitimate senders.
Expert from Email Geeks shares he is hearing some noise of unexpected higher than usual inbox placement because of the Microsoft email filter failure.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that his own Spam Resource emails are back to the inbox at Hotmail/Outlook after the Microsoft filter failure.
Expert from Email Geeks says that Microsoft accidentally turned off their email filters.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that this issue seems to be related to the focused inbox and has been going on for less than a week.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Google Workspace explains that, while targeted at Gmail, following general bulk sender guidelines like clear unsubscribe options and relevant content helps improve overall deliverability, including to Microsoft.
Documentation from MXToolbox explains that issues may arise with server health leading to filtering issues. They provide tools for checking the health and configuration of mail servers, identifying potential problems that could affect deliverability to Microsoft.
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that Outlook.com uses several factors to determine whether a message is spam, including user complaints, sender reputation, and content analysis. Changes or failures in any of these systems can affect inbox placement.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that monitoring deliverability metrics (e.g., bounce rates, complaint rates) can help identify potential problems with Microsoft's filtering and take corrective action.
Documentation from Microsoft Docs explains that sender reputation is a key factor in inbox placement. Poor reputation can lead to emails being filtered as spam, and Microsoft actively monitors sender reputation.