What should I do about a sudden spike in the Gmail Postmaster Tools spam rate?

Marketer from Email Geeks says that it's alarming when there is a spike on a high-volume day. Also, if your ESP publishes the Google feedback loop X-header, you may get specific campaigns called out under the FBL menu item if Google thinks one has a complaint rate that's too high, which you may or may not want to do something about, depending. It's vague. It's also noted that Tim Starr started calculating the 30-day complaint rate average for his domains. LoriBeth Blair adds that Google discount low volume days.

Email marketer from Gmass shares the importance of using email list validation tools to remove invalid or risky addresses, reducing bounce rates and spam complaints.

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares to check your sender reputation, authenticate your emails, clean your email list, and monitor your results to improve email deliverability.

Email marketer from Reddit suggests checking the source of the emails causing the spike (campaign vs transactional), reviewing the content for spam triggers, and ensuring clear unsubscribe options are easily accessible.

Email marketer from StackOverflow said to review recent campaign changes: If the spam rate spike coincided with a specific campaign or automation update, investigate those changes first. Look for changes in content, audience targeting, or sending frequency that might explain the spike.

Email marketer from HubSpot gives advice to avoid spam traps by never purchasing email lists, use a confirmed opt-in process, and remove unengaged contacts. They also state to ensure your email marketing platform is reputable and follows best practices.

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that keeping your spam complaint rate below 0.1% is a key element of maintaining your sender reputation and avoiding deliverability issues. A rate consistently above 0.3% will likely cause major deliverability issues.

Email marketer from Litmus shares best practices for maintaining email list hygiene, including using double opt-in, regularly cleaning inactive subscribers, and segmenting your list to send more targeted emails. Regular hygiene minimizes bounces and spam complaints.

Email marketer from SendGrid shares some common causes of increased spam complaints: sending irrelevant content, sending too frequently, not having clear unsubscribe options, and using outdated or purchased lists.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that GPT is where to see Gmail complaint rates, not your ESP, unless they are API-ing it. They mention that you should stay under 0.30%, but a one-day spike isn't supposed to hurt you.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares the importance of audience segmentation for better targeting and deliverability. A good approach will allow for personalised messaging and reduced spam complaints.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares initial actions to take, suggesting checking the email volume to Google for the day; if 6% of complaints would be less than 10, it may not be a big concern. Otherwise, check for sudden increases in volume from autoresponders or welcome automations, as this could indicate bot activity. They suggest to check the authentication on Postmaster Tools.

Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests A/B testing different email elements (subject lines, content, calls to action) to see what resonates best with your audience and reduces spam complaints.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains to investigate the source of the spike; could be a specific campaign, or the whole program. Consider changes in sending habits, list hygiene, or content. Compare data to previous periods to identify what might have changed.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that the spam rate percentage is based on emails that reach active users' inboxes. If mail goes to spam, it can skew the percentage. With low volumes (like 300), percentages can be inaccurate due to noise. A single complaint at that volume (maybe a misclick) will result in a high percentage. Since it's well below the bulk threshold, they advise not to worry much but to monitor trends. They also asked what the Google open rate looks like.

Expert from Word to the Wise says to monitor your sender reputation. Implement feedback loops and actively monitor abuse reports to quickly identify and address any issues affecting your reputation.

Documentation from RFC documents how to implement SPF records on your domain. SPF records help receiving servers verify that mail claiming to be from a specific domain is authorized by the domain's administrators. Helps to reduce the likelihood of spam being sent from your domain.

Documentation from DKIM.org provides technical specifications and guidelines for implementing DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), which helps improve email security and authentication, reducing the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

Documentation from Google Bulk Sender Guidelines explains the best practices for sending bulk emails, including authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list management, and monitoring spam complaints. It also emphasizes staying below the 0.3% spam rate threshold.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help explains that the Spam Rate reflects the percentage of messages marked as spam by users, relative to the total emails sent to the inbox. A high spam rate can negatively impact deliverability.