Why does Google Postmaster Tools spam rate spike on days with no campaigns?

Email marketer from StackExchange suggests checking your server for any signs of compromise. If your server has been hacked, spammers may be using it to send out spam emails, which would lead to high spam rates.

Email marketer from Gmass indicates that spam filters are very sensitive to certain words and phrases. Avoid language that can be identified as potentially harmful. So if automated emails contain spam triggers, your Google postmaster tools stats are impacted

Email marketer from EmailToolTester highlights the benefits of using double opt-in for your email list. This process involves sending a confirmation email to new subscribers, which they must click to verify their address. This helps ensure that you only send emails to genuine users who want to receive them.

Email marketer from Email on Acid's forum indicates that one of the methods to keep a low spam score is ensuring that a high percentage of your recipients are engaged with your emails. That would entail having a solid funnel in place and/or culling unengaged users, otherwise you could see a spike in spam rates.

Email marketer from SendGrid explains that consistent sending practices contribute to a good sender reputation. Sending irrelevant emails or having a sudden change in sending volume (even with automations) may trigger spam filters and increase spam complaints, affecting the reported spam rate.

Email marketer from Litmus suggests checking email authentication setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to ensure emails are properly authenticated. Poor or broken authentication can lead mailbox providers to flag emails as spam even if they are legitimate. This is especially true when sending automated emails.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that the "Spam Rate" tab in Google Postmaster Tools offers an overview of Spam Complaints/FBL Reports for the domain. The FBL section provides more in-depth information to help identify the source of spam complaints, although it might not display data if the volume is too low or the appropriate header isn't being appended (Klaviyo does append this header). Francis further explains that a traditional FBL involves receiving and parsing reports when someone marks an email as spam, leading to suppression of the user, but Google doesn't offer this, and no ESP will have this data regarding Google spam reports.

Email marketer from Email Geeks provides a link to check DKIM setup in Klaviyo (<https://www.klaviyo.com/settings/email/domains>). They also confirm that Klaviyo automatically appends the FBL ID header.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that if you're seeing spam spikes without sending campaigns, the problem could be with your automated emails or triggered messages. Check if those emails are relevant and not annoying to recipients, also old lists might get hit by spam traps.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that high spam complaints can stem from various issues, including sending to old or unengaged lists, using misleading subject lines, or having poor email content that users find irrelevant. Spikes without campaigns could mean issues with triggered emails.

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that Google doesn't offer a traditional Feedback Loop (FBL) and only provides aggregated data in Postmaster Tools (GPT). Therefore, Klaviyo or any ESP won't have the same data inside their UI as they would for other Mailbox Providers (MBP) like Yahoo.

Email marketer from Mailgun forum explains that if you are sending emails to inactive email addresses, it may be interpreted as spam, thus increasing the Google postmaster spam rate

Expert from Word to the Wise indicates that a poor onboarding process could be a reason for an increasing number of spam complaints. Ensure you have a good onboarding process that will encourage users to engage with your emails, that should have a positive impact.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that automated list management, like sunsetting inactive subscribers, directly impacts spam complaint rates. If poorly implemented, the remaining active users might disproportionately mark emails as spam, leading to spikes, even on days without campaigns. Furthermore, automated systems may make mistakes.

Expert from Email Geeks asks if the user uses a custom DKIM to sign their mail and what alignment setting they are using. Matt also asks if they are including the Feedback-ID header in their email, indicating that Gmail might include parts of this if found.

Documentation from Validity explains the importance of monitoring blocklists for your sending IPs and domains. Being listed on a blocklist can significantly impact email deliverability and spam rates.

Documentation from SparkPost explains that hitting spam traps can severely damage your sender reputation and increase spam rates. Spam traps are email addresses that don't belong to real users and are used to identify spammers. Even automated emails can trigger spam traps if list hygiene is poor.

Documentation from Google Help explains that the Spam Rate in Postmaster Tools represents the percentage of emails marked as spam by users, relative to the total emails sent. Spikes can occur due to changes in user behavior, issues with email content, or problems with list hygiene.

Documentation from RFC Editor explains the importance of SPF, DKIM and DMARC for proper email authentication. It provides background information on these requirements.

Documentation from Microsoft details how to keep your emails out of the junk folder, sharing advice on email design and sender reputation. This documentation highlights the importance of content and list hygiene for your sending domain.