Why have Gmail open rates dropped and how can I fix it?

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that Gmail's tabbed inbox (Primary, Promotions, Social, Updates) can affect open rates. Emails landing in the Promotions tab may have lower open rates compared to the Primary tab.

Marketer from Email Geeks saw open rates drop, and after testing, found it was due to emails being classified as “Promotions” instead of “Updates”. Changing the content to be classified as “Updates” resulted in a 4x higher open rate.

Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that regularly cleaning email lists by removing inactive subscribers and hard bounces improves sender reputation and can positively impact open rates by ensuring emails reach engaged users.

Email marketer from Reddit notes that Gmail's algorithm increasingly prioritizes user engagement. Emails with high engagement (opens, clicks) are more likely to land in the primary inbox. Focus on creating valuable content to encourage engagement.

Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that using compelling and concise subject lines that create a sense of urgency or curiosity can significantly increase open rates. Avoiding spam trigger words is also important.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that using email automation to send timely and relevant messages, combined with effective segmentation, can increase engagement and improve open rates in Gmail.

Email marketer from Gmass shares that open rates often depend on the content that is shared. Keeping content interesting will help keep users engaged.

Marketer from Email Geeks mentions that they have returned to more basic templates to improve open rates.

Email marketer from Mailchimp explains that several factors can impact open rates, including list quality, subject line relevance, sender reputation, and email content. Addressing these areas can help improve open rates.

Marketer from Email Geeks observed a drop in open rates for most clients due to recent tab changes, with variations ranging between 2% and 5%.

Marketer from Email Geeks mentions Updates is not a default tab, so mail going to updates often goes to the primary tab.

Marketer from Email Geeks AB tested and stripped out all promotional material, creating a basic version, and saw open rates return to 20%.

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that monitoring sender reputation, using a dedicated IP address, and warming up new IP addresses gradually can improve email deliverability and, consequently, open rates in Gmail.

Email marketer from HubSpot shares that personalizing subject lines, segmenting email lists, and sending emails at optimal times can significantly improve open rates. A/B testing subject lines and content is also recommended.

Expert from Word to the Wise discusses the risks of list washing and that users should avoid washing and focus on building an engaged list.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that engagement is a key factor in inbox placement, and lack of engagement can lead to emails landing in the spam folder or promotions tab, impacting open rates. He suggests focusing on relevant and valuable content to improve engagement.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that they have been seeing temporary deliverability slow downs and it might also be causing open rate drops.

Expert from Email Geeks mentions that multiple people have started seeing dropping open rates at Gmail lately.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that Google seems to have changed their model for identifying promotional mail, sending more to the promo tab. She's also seeing more mail in the inbox with images not loading by default, which could lower open rates. Additionally, lower clicks may be due to the holiday season and increased commercial mail.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that Google is now using AI to perform spam filtering.

Documentation from Litmus explains that ensuring emails render correctly across different devices and email clients can improve user experience and, consequently, open rates. Testing emails before sending is crucial.

Documentation from RFC Editor explains that implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication standards helps verify the sender's identity and can improve email deliverability to Gmail inboxes, positively affecting open rates.

Documentation from Validity (formerly Return Path) explains that maintaining a positive sender reputation is critical for email deliverability to Gmail inboxes. Monitoring and addressing factors that impact reputation, such as spam complaints and bounce rates, can improve open rates.

Documentation from Google Support explains that Gmail's spam filters adapt over time. Changes in user behavior and spam tactics can influence which emails are filtered, potentially impacting open rates if messages land in the spam folder.