Why is Google Postmaster Tools spam rate higher than ESP reported spam rate?

Email marketer from Litmus Blog emphasizes the importance of list hygiene for Gmail deliverability. A higher spam rate might indicate a need to clean up your list by removing inactive or unengaged subscribers.

Email marketer from Gmass responds that sending too many emails to Gmail users can lead to higher spam complaints. Adjusting sending frequency and segmenting lists can help improve engagement and reduce spam rates.

Email marketer from SendGrid shares that Google Postmaster Tools reflects spam complaints from Gmail users only. If a significant portion of your audience uses Gmail, their behavior will heavily influence the reported spam rate, potentially making it higher than the overall rate reported by your ESP.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Google calculates spam rate as # of complaints / # of messages delivered into the inbox, which differs from ESPs that calculate it as # of complaints / # of delivered. He suggests trusting Google's reporting if Gmail represents a significant portion of the audience and to investigate signup sources, consent approach, and list maintenance practices.

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that several factors contribute to spam complaints, including irrelevant content, sending too frequently, using deceptive subject lines, and having a difficult unsubscribe process. These factors can lead to higher spam complaint rates in Google Postmaster Tools.

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that the spam rate in Google Postmaster Tools might be higher due to differences in how Google calculates it compared to ESPs. Google's calculation focuses on users who actively mark emails as spam within Gmail, which can be more sensitive than overall complaint rates.

Email marketer from StackOverflow suggests that different spam thresholds and algorithms used by Google compared to ESPs can lead to discrepancies. Google's algorithms might be more aggressive in identifying and filtering spam.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Google calculates spam rates based on "emails that were sent to the inbox for active users," a definition that is not fully transparent. He also notes observing periodic spikes in complaint rates across multiple streams, suggesting potential lagged reporting by Google.

Email marketer from Validity Blog shares that Google Postmaster Tools data reflects only Gmail users and is based on Google's internal spam filtering mechanisms. A higher spam rate can indicate issues with list hygiene, content quality, or sender reputation specific to Gmail.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that a high spam rate in Google Postmaster Tools could signal content issues. Sending emails with spam triggers, poor formatting, or irrelevant information can lead to users marking them as spam.

Email marketer from Reddit states that a higher spam rate in Google Postmaster Tools often indicates Gmail users are more likely to mark emails as spam than users of other email providers. This could be due to Gmail's stricter filtering or user demographics.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that all MBPs calculate spam rates as complaints/inboxed, but the inboxed rate isn't visible. GPT shows the inbox complaint rate, while most ESPs show complaints/delivered.

Email marketer from EmailGeeks forum responds that Gmail users might be more proactive in reporting spam, leading to higher complaint rates. Also, Gmail's prominent spam button encourages users to report unwanted emails.

Expert from SpamResource explains that Gmail users are very engaged at marking spam as spam, and Google takes these signals seriously which causes a larger spam reporting than other ESPs.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Google's spam filtering is unique, and the Postmaster Tools spam rate reflects Google's internal assessment. It can differ significantly from ESP metrics due to variations in how spam is defined and detected.

Documentation from RFC-Editor explains that high spam rates compared to ESP metrics can be caused by differences in spam filter sensitivity, user behavior, and spam reporting mechanisms between Gmail and other email providers.

Documentation from SparkPost suggests that a higher spam rate can be an indicator of a deteriorating sender reputation with Gmail. Monitoring Google Postmaster Tools helps identify and address potential deliverability issues early.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help highlights that using feedback loops helps identify campaigns generating high spam complaints. This data allows senders to address issues proactively, improving sender reputation and deliverability.

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help explains that the spam rate is the percentage of emails marked as spam by users, calculated based on emails delivered to the inbox. High rates can negatively impact deliverability, highlighting the importance of user engagement.