Summary
Monitoring email deliverability to ensure emails reach the inbox requires a comprehensive approach incorporating various strategies and tools. It involves actively tracking sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS, maintaining strict list hygiene practices through email validation and regular pruning, and implementing email authentication standards like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Additionally, it is important to monitor blocklists, set up feedback loops to handle spam complaints, use seed lists to assess inbox placement, and analyze engagement metrics such as open and click-through rates. Furthermore, one must test email content and rendering, avoid spam trigger words, utilize a dedicated IP address, segment email lists for relevance, and employ double opt-in processes to ensure subscribers' consent.
Key findings
- Sender Reputation Tracking: Utilizing Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS is essential for monitoring sender reputation by tracking IP and domain reputation, spam complaints, and authentication status.
- Email Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication standards verifies sender identity and ensures message integrity, preventing spoofing and improving deliverability.
- List Hygiene Practices: Email validation services and regular pruning of inactive subscribers help maintain a clean list, reducing bounce rates and spam complaints.
- Proactive Monitoring: Actively checking blocklists and setting up feedback loops provide early warnings of deliverability issues and enable timely resolution.
- Engagement Analysis: Tracking open and click-through rates offers insights into recipient engagement, allowing for identification of deliverability problems.
- Inbox Placement Testing: Seed lists and tools like Glockapps help determine inbox placement across various email providers, identifying potential deliverability failures.
Key considerations
- Continuous Monitoring: Deliverability monitoring is an ongoing process, requiring regular attention to various metrics and adjustments to strategies as needed.
- IP Reputation Management: Building and maintaining a positive IP reputation is crucial; using a dedicated IP address allows for more control over sending practices.
- Content Optimization: Avoiding spam trigger words and optimizing email content for relevance and engagement increases the likelihood of inbox placement.
- User Consent: Ensuring subscribers have explicitly consented to receive emails via double opt-in processes enhances deliverability and builds trust.
- Holistic Strategy: A holistic approach that combines technical safeguards, proactive monitoring, and engagement-focused content is essential for maintaining optimal deliverability.
What email marketers say
14 marketer opinions
Monitoring email deliverability involves a multi-faceted approach that includes tracking sender reputation, maintaining list hygiene, authenticating your emails, testing email content and rendering, and using feedback loops. Utilizing tools like Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS, GlockApps, and dedicated IP addresses helps to gain insights into deliverability performance. Analyzing open and click-through rates, segmenting email lists, avoiding spam trigger words, and implementing double opt-in are also key strategies for ensuring emails reach the inbox rather than the spam folder.
Key opinions
- Sender Reputation: Monitoring sender reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS is crucial for understanding how ISPs view your sending practices.
- List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list and validating email addresses can significantly reduce bounce rates and spam complaints, improving deliverability.
- Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC email authentication protocols helps verify the sender's identity and ensures messages are not tampered with, improving inbox placement.
- Content Testing: Previewing emails across different devices and email clients can identify rendering issues that might trigger spam filters or negatively impact user engagement.
- Engagement Metrics: Tracking open rates and click-through rates (CTR) provides insights into how recipients are engaging with your emails, with declining engagement often signaling deliverability issues.
- Feedback Loops: Setting up and monitoring feedback loops (FBLs) allows ISPs to notify you when recipients mark your emails as spam, enabling you to address the underlying issues.
- Tool Utilization: Tools like GlockApps offer comprehensive testing across various email providers to assess inbox placement and identify potential deliverability problems.
- Dedicated IPs: Using a dedicated IP address allows you to build a unique sender reputation, isolating your deliverability from the actions of other senders on shared IPs.
- Segmentation: Segmenting your email list to send more targeted and relevant emails increases engagement and reduces the likelihood of recipients marking emails as spam.
Key considerations
- Consistent Monitoring: Deliverability monitoring is an ongoing process, and it's essential to regularly check key metrics and adapt your strategy based on the insights gained.
- Sender Reputation Management: Actively manage your sender reputation by addressing issues promptly and adhering to best practices to maintain a positive relationship with ISPs.
- Compliance: Ensure your email practices comply with relevant regulations, such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM, to avoid penalties and maintain deliverability.
- Content Relevance: Focus on creating valuable and relevant content for your subscribers to increase engagement and reduce the likelihood of being marked as spam.
- Double Opt-in: Implement double opt-in to ensure subscribers explicitly consent to receive emails from you, leading to a more engaged and receptive audience.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that setting up feedback loops (FBLs) allows ISPs to notify you when recipients mark your emails as spam. This helps you identify and address issues that are causing spam complaints.
7 Dec 2024 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that using a dedicated IP address can improve deliverability. A dedicated IP allows you to build your own sender reputation, separate from shared IP pools where other senders' actions can affect your deliverability.
15 Apr 2022 - Sendinblue
What the experts say
6 expert opinions
Experts recommend a combination of proactive and reactive measures to monitor email deliverability. Using seed lists or probe accounts from deliverability service companies offers insights into inbox placement across different providers. Regular blocklist monitoring helps identify reputation issues, while establishing feedback loops (FBLs) provides direct data on spam complaints. Furthermore, maintaining excellent list hygiene through validation, pruning, and immediate removal of bounces is critical for ensuring emails reach the inbox.
Key opinions
- Seed Lists/Probe Accounts: Deliverability services with probe accounts provide insights into inbox placement across diverse email providers.
- Blocklist Monitoring: Regularly checking IP addresses and domains against blocklists is crucial for identifying and resolving deliverability issues related to reputation.
- Feedback Loops (FBLs): Setting up and monitoring FBLs offers direct data on spam complaints from recipients, allowing for targeted remediation.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list through validation, pruning, and removal of bounces significantly improves deliverability.
Key considerations
- Diverse Seed List: Ensure your seed list encompasses a wide range of email providers to obtain a comprehensive view of deliverability performance.
- Proactive Blocklist Checks: Don't wait for deliverability issues; proactively monitor blocklists to identify and resolve potential problems before they impact your email campaigns.
- FBL Implementation: Prioritize setting up FBLs with major ISPs to receive timely notifications of spam complaints.
- Validation at Signup: Implement email validation at the point of signup to prevent invalid or risky addresses from entering your list.
- Immediate Bounce Removal: Configure your system to automatically remove hard bounces from your list to protect your sender reputation.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that maintaining good list hygiene is essential to ensuring deliverability. They recommend validating addresses at the point of signup, regularly pruning inactive subscribers, and immediately removing hard bounces and unsubscribes.
10 Apr 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource shares that regularly checking your IP address and domain against various blocklists (e.g., Spamhaus, Barracuda) is essential for identifying and addressing potential deliverability issues caused by being listed on a blocklist.
12 Apr 2025 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Official documentation emphasizes the importance of utilizing tools provided by major email providers and implementing email authentication standards to monitor and improve deliverability. Google Postmaster Tools offers Gmail-specific deliverability insights, while Microsoft SNDS provides data related to Outlook.com users. Implementing SPF and DKIM authentication ensures emails are properly verified, preventing spoofing and improving sender reputation.
Key findings
- Google Postmaster Tools: Google Postmaster Tools offers valuable insights into deliverability for Gmail users, including spam rates, domain reputation, and feedback loop information.
- Microsoft SNDS: Microsoft's Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) provides data on sending IP addresses, complaint rates, and spam trap hits for Outlook.com users.
- SPF Implementation: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records specify authorized mail servers for your domain, preventing spammers from forging your email address.
- DKIM Implementation: DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) provides an email authentication method that verifies the sender's identity and ensures message integrity.
Key considerations
- Regular Monitoring: Actively monitor Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS to identify and address deliverability issues promptly.
- Proper Configuration: Ensure SPF and DKIM records are correctly configured to maximize their effectiveness in authenticating your emails.
- Proactive Action: Use the data from these tools and authentication methods to proactively improve your sending practices and maintain a positive sender reputation.
- Holistic Approach: Combine these technical measures with other best practices, such as list hygiene and content relevance, for optimal deliverability.
Technical article
Documentation from DKIM explains that DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) provides an email authentication method to verify the sender's identity and ensure that the message has not been altered during transit, which can help improve deliverability.
28 Feb 2022 - DKIM.org
Technical article
Documentation from RFC explains that implementing Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records helps prevent spammers from forging your email address. SPF records specify which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.
10 Apr 2022 - RFC
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