Why are my information emails landing in the promotions tab and causing a drop in open rates?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Neil Patel Digital explains that Gmail's algorithm places emails in the Promotions tab based on several factors, including the sender's reputation, the content of the email, and the recipient's past interactions. Promotional language, excessive use of images, and links can trigger the filter. A drop in open rates often correlates with increased filtering.
Email marketer from GMass answers that placement in the Promotions tab can also stem from inconsistent sending patterns. They suggest warming up your IP address and maintaining a consistent sending volume to build a positive sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks questions whether the emails landing in the primary inbox are confirmed. Suggests that personal mailbox filtering may differ from the audience's experience, and some recipients may be getting the emails in the spam folder. Advises to look into the issue and use GPT to identify campaigns with complaints.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that a drop in open rates might not be related to the primary or promotions tab. Suggests checking Google Postmaster Tools.
Email marketer from SendPulse responds that to combat low open rates and placement in the Promotions tab, segment your audience and personalize your messages. Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly and use a clear call-to-action. Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that improving your sender reputation involves consistently delivering value to your subscribers. Remove unengaged contacts from your list, personalize your emails, and avoid using spam trigger words.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that to avoid the Promotions tab, you should avoid promotional language and excessive links. Also, ask recipients to move your emails to the primary tab or add you to their contacts. Focusing on sending valuable and engaging content is key.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that overly designed emails with a high image-to-text ratio can be flagged as promotional. They recommend balancing images and text and ensuring your code is clean and optimized for different email clients.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum user User42 responds that your email content may be the reason for the Promotions tab placement. They advise reviewing your subject lines and body copy for words and phrases commonly associated with marketing or sales.
Email marketer from MailerLite responds that avoid using all caps, excessive exclamation points, and spam trigger words in your email content. Write clear, concise subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your email.
Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailPro2020 shares that using too many images or links can trigger the Promotions tab filter. They suggest focusing on plain-text emails and building a relationship with subscribers by asking them to add you to their contacts.
Marketer from Email Geeks asks if the emails are promotional and suggests they might be landing in the correct tab.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Gmail's promotions tab placement is influenced by factors like sender reputation, email content, and user engagement. They suggest focusing on building a positive sender reputation by consistently delivering valuable and engaging content to your subscribers.
Expert from Spam Resource responds that consistently low engagement metrics (low open rates, clicks, and replies) signal to mailbox providers that your emails are not valuable to recipients, leading to placement in the Promotions tab or even the spam folder. They recommend segmenting your audience and sending targeted content to increase engagement.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft shares that to improve email deliverability, authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols help verify that your emails are legitimate and reduce the risk of being marked as spam.
Documentation from RFC explains that Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records are used to specify which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. Incorrect or missing SPF records can lead to deliverability issues.
Documentation from DMARC shares that Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) builds on SPF and DKIM to provide a policy for handling emails that fail authentication checks. It helps protect your domain from spoofing and phishing attacks.
Documentation from Google Support explains that Gmail's spam filters use machine learning to identify and filter unwanted emails. The filters consider factors like sender reputation, email content, and user feedback. High spam complaint rates can negatively impact deliverability.
Documentation from DKIM shares that DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) uses cryptographic signatures to verify the authenticity of email messages. Implementing DKIM helps ensure that your emails are not tampered with during transit.