Why are my emails going to the promotions tab in Gmail? - Knowledge Base

Summary

Misspellings and poor grammar in email subject lines and content can negatively affect email deliverability and spam filter placement. While not always a primary factor, these errors contribute to a lower sender reputation by signaling unprofessionalism and potentially triggering spam filters. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) analyze content quality, and consistent errors may associate your domain with low-quality content. Additionally, machine learning (ML) filters look for patterns, making it difficult to predict what might trigger a negative classification, including incorrectly spelled words. However, the impact of misspellings is nuanced, depending on whether more bad mail than good mail exhibits the characteristic and the potential harm of misclassification. Therefore, careful attention to writing, proofreading, and maintaining a good overall content quality are essential to avoid being flagged as spam.

Key findings

Sender Reputation Impact: Misspellings and poor grammar negatively impact sender reputation, signaling a lack of professionalism and trustworthiness to ISPs.
Spam Filter Triggers: Poor content quality and frequent errors increase the likelihood of emails being flagged as spam by spam filters and ISPs.
ML Filter Complexity: Machine learning filters use patterns to classify emails, making it difficult to predict specific triggers and creating a risk of misclassification.
Nuanced Effects: The effect of misspellings is nuanced and depends on context, frequency, and association with other spam signals or malicious content.
Content Quality Importance: Content quality, including grammar, spelling, and overall format, plays a critical role in deliverability and avoiding spam filters.

Key considerations

Thorough Proofreading: Implement rigorous proofreading processes to eliminate errors in grammar, spelling, and formatting.
Prioritize Content Quality: Focus on creating well-written, professional content that conveys trustworthiness and expertise.
Monitor Sender Reputation: Actively monitor and manage your sender reputation, addressing any issues that may arise from content quality concerns.
Stay Updated: Keep up-to-date with the latest spam filter algorithms and best practices for email deliverability to adapt your strategies accordingly.
Holistic Approach: Take a holistic approach to email deliverability, addressing all aspects of your email program, including content, infrastructure, and subscriber engagement.

What email marketers say

11 marketer opinions

Misspellings and poor grammar in email subject lines and content can negatively impact email deliverability and spam filter placement. While not always a primary factor, they contribute to a lower sender reputation, signal unprofessionalism, and can trigger spam filters. ISPs analyze content quality, and consistent errors may associate your domain with low-quality content. Though occasional typos might not be critical, persistent bad grammar hurts deliverability over time. Mailbox providers may correlate errors with other spam signals. Therefore, attention to writing and proofreading is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation and avoiding spam filters.

Key opinions

Sender Reputation: Consistent misspellings and grammatical errors negatively affect sender reputation, making emails appear less trustworthy to ISPs.
Spam Trigger: Poor grammar and spelling errors can trigger spam filters, especially when resembling spam patterns or occurring in the absence of domain/IP history.
Content Quality: ISPs analyze content quality, and frequent errors may flag emails as suspicious due to a perception of unprofessionalism.
ML Filters: Machine learning filters look for patterns, and low-quality content can contribute to negative classification, even with correctly spelled words.
Cumulative Impact: Even if isolated typos aren't critical, consistent errors damage deliverability as ISPs associate domains with low-quality content over time.

Key considerations

Proofreading: Pay close attention to writing and proofreading to avoid errors that could negatively impact deliverability.
Content Quality Focus: Prioritize producing high-quality, well-written content to signal trustworthiness to both recipients and mailbox providers.
Sender Reputation Management: Actively manage your sender reputation by consistently sending professional, error-free emails to avoid being flagged as spam.
Pattern Awareness: Be aware of patterns in email content that might trigger spam filters, including common misspellings or grammatical errors associated with spam.
Audience Perception: Remember that grammatical errors and typos create a sense of carelessness, potentially decreasing user engagement.

Marketer view

Email marketer from GMass recommends paying close attention to your writing. Errors in spelling and grammar can make your message seem untrustworthy and push it toward the spam folder.

23 Apr 2023 - GMass

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that misspellings could affect inbox placement, especially if the receiver has seen similar misspellings in recent spam. However, this might not be a major factor for large email providers unless it closely resembles spam or if the provider lacks domain/IP history.

22 Jan 2025 - Email Geeks

What the experts say

3 expert opinions

Email deliverability is a complex issue influenced by many factors, including content. While no single element guarantees inbox placement, misspellings can contribute to spam filtering, particularly if associated with known spam tactics or dangerous content. Spam filters and ISPs use algorithms to score content, and errors negatively impact this score. However, the impact is nuanced; creative misspellings may not trigger filters, but content should always be crafted with deliverability in mind to avoid being flagged as spam.

Key opinions

No Single Factor: Email deliverability is not determined by a single element; various factors contribute to spam filtering.
Spam Tactics: Misspellings used as tactics to bypass filters, particularly in words like 'Viagra,' can trigger spam filters.
Algorithm Scoring: Spam filters and ISPs use algorithms to score email content, where grammar and spelling issues can negatively impact the final result.
Nuanced Impact: The impact of misspellings is nuanced; creative misspellings are not automatically flagged, and the severity depends on the content's nature.
Content Matters: Content plays a role in deliverability. Emails should be carefully written to stop them being treated as spam.

Key considerations

Holistic Approach: Consider email deliverability holistically, addressing various factors beyond just spelling and grammar.
Intentionality: Be aware of the potential risks associated with misspellings, especially when they mimic spam tactics.
Algorithm Awareness: Understand that spam filters use algorithms to evaluate content, and prioritize quality writing.
Balanced Perspective: Recognize that not all misspellings are equal; assess the context and potential impact before sending emails.
Prioritize Deliverability: Craft emails with deliverability in mind, ensuring they are well-written to avoid being treated as spam.

Expert view

Expert from Spamresource explains that spam filters and ISP's use algorithms that score content and spelling and grammar issues will negatively impact the final result. The better your emails are written, the more likely they are to be delivered.

26 Feb 2022 - Spamresource

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares that there isn't one single factor that causes emails to go to spam. Spammers often use misspellings to avoid filters, like misspelling 'Viagra'. So misspellings, when noticed in certain words, can lead to emails being marked as spam. However, many startups creatively misspell their names without automatically being sent to spam. The impact of misspellings is nuanced and depends on whether more bad mail than good mail exhibits the characteristic and the potential harm of misclassification. If it's dangerous mail the filtering will be more aggressive.

1 Dec 2021 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says

5 technical articles

Email service providers like Google and Microsoft consider content quality when filtering spam, although they don't detail every factor. Poor grammar and spelling errors can make emails seem less trustworthy and increase the likelihood of being flagged as spam. Spamhaus emphasizes that overall content quality impacts sender reputation. RFC documentation highlights the importance of message format; although spelling isn't explicitly mentioned, poorly formatted messages can be deemed harmful, highlighting the general importance of well structured and well written emails.

Key findings

Content Quality Matters: Content quality plays a role in spam detection algorithms, even if specific details are not fully disclosed.
Trustworthiness Signal: Sloppy grammar and spelling errors can negatively impact how trustworthy an email is perceived to be.
Sender Reputation Impact: Content quality, including grammar and spelling, influences sender reputation and can contribute to filtering issues.
Format Importance: Proper email format is vital, and while spelling isn't directly addressed, poor formatting can lead to messages being viewed as potentially harmful.

Key considerations

Proofread Carefully: Thoroughly proofread emails to minimize errors and maintain a professional image.
Balance Content: Ensure a good quality of the content to avoid spam filters.
Holistic Approach: Focus on overall content quality, considering grammar, spelling, and formatting for better deliverability and sender reputation.
Standards Compliance: Adhere to internet standards for message formatting to prevent messages from being flagged as potentially harmful.

Technical article

Documentation from RFC touches on standard formats for email content. Whilst it does not include specific rules regarding spelling and grammar, it is more concerned about structure. However, emails with many formatting errors may look suspicious to the recipient or to the mail server.

19 Oct 2024 - RFC

Technical article

Documentation from RFC outlines acceptable message formats and states in section 2.1 that format is very important in email, though spelling is not explicitly mentioned, badly formatted emails are more likely to be considered harmful. It is up to the mail administrators to set their own criteria.

21 Apr 2024 - RFC