Summary
If your IP is suspended from Validity Certification due to high complaint rates, the key is a comprehensive approach focusing on both immediate action and long-term improvements. Experts recommend addressing the root cause of the complaints by analyzing recent campaigns, improving list hygiene (removing inactive, bounced, and unsubscribed users), ensuring clear opt-in processes and honoring unsubscriptions. Sending relevant content to engaged subscribers is crucial, and segmentation of your audience can help achieve this. Monitor your sender reputation using tools like Validity Everest and Google Postmaster Tools, and ensure you're properly processing complaint feedback loops to remove complainers. Maintain consistent sending volumes and properly authenticate your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Continuing to send (carefully) to engaged users can help restore your reputation by providing data for improvement. Consider requesting mitigation from Microsoft if you believe the suspension is an error, but only after addressing these issues.
Key findings
- Address Root Cause: Identify and fix the underlying issues causing high complaint rates, such as poor list quality, irrelevant content, or unclear opt-in processes.
- List Hygiene is Crucial: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers, bounced addresses, and unsubscribed users.
- Engagement Matters: Focus on sending relevant and valuable content to engaged subscribers.
- Monitor Reputation: Use tools like Validity Everest and Google Postmaster Tools to monitor your sender reputation and complaint rates.
- Proper Authentication: Ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve sender reputation and deliverability.
- Feedback Loops are Important: Process complaint feedback loops (FBLs) to identify and remove subscribers who mark emails as spam.
- Consider Continuing to send: Consider continuing to send email to active users in order to build deliverability.
Key considerations
- Opt-in Practices: Review and improve your opt-in processes to ensure explicit consent and prevent future complaints.
- Unsubscribe Options: Make unsubscribing easy and accessible to users.
- Segmentation Strategy: Develop a robust segmentation strategy to send targeted and relevant content to different audience segments.
- Sending Volume: Maintain consistent sending volumes to build trust with mailbox providers.
- ESP relationship: Make sure you are still following the email guidelines as advised by your ESP (Email Service Provider)
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
If your IP is suspended from Validity Certification due to high complaint rates, the general consensus is to focus on improving your email practices rather than immediately halting sending. Key areas to address include: identifying the root cause of complaints through campaign analysis, improving list hygiene by removing unengaged users and bounced addresses, ensuring clear opt-in processes and honoring unsubscriptions, sending relevant content to engaged subscribers, and monitoring sender reputation. Additionally, ensure your email is properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and consider using feedback loops to promptly address complaints. Continuing to send email to engaged users can help restore your reputation, while carefully monitoring your metrics using tools like Validity Everest is crucial.
Key opinions
- Continue Sending: Continuing to send emails (carefully) to engaged users can help restore your reputation by providing data for improvement. Stopping entirely may hinder the recovery process.
- List Hygiene: Cleaning your email list is vital. Remove bounced addresses, unsubscribed users, and inactive subscribers. Regularly review and update your list acquisition practices.
- Content Relevance: Sending relevant content to engaged subscribers reduces complaints. Analyze campaigns to determine what resonates with your audience.
- Feedback Loops: Implementing and monitoring feedback loops allows you to promptly address complaints and remove problematic subscribers.
- Authentication: Email authentication with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for improving deliverability and ensuring you are recognized as a legitimate sender.
Key considerations
- Root Cause: Identify the root cause of high complaint rates. Analyze recent campaigns, opt-in processes, and audience segmentation.
- Segmentation: Segment your audience to send more targeted emails. This will increase engagement and reduce complaints.
- Unsubscriptions: Make unsubscribing easy. Use a single-click unsubscribe option and consider a preference center where users can manage their email preferences.
- Monitoring: Monitor sender reputation and metrics using tools like Validity Everest. This allows you to track progress and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- ESP Guidance: While getting other opinions is valuable, follow your ESP’s (Email Service Provider) recommendations. They are experts in the systems that they use.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit responds that Validity Certification (formerly Return Path) suspension primarily impacts your reputation with mailbox providers who use their data. They recommend focusing on improving your email practices to reduce complaints and suggest reviewing feedback loops and list hygiene.
20 Apr 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that if deliverability is low, make sure you're authenticating your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This ensures that mailbox providers recognize you as a legitimate sender.
14 Sep 2021 - HubSpot
What the experts say
2 expert opinions
When an IP is suspended from Validity Certification due to high complaint rates, experts recommend focusing on managing and reducing those complaints directly. This includes properly processing complaint feedback loops to identify and remove subscribers marking emails as spam. Additionally, removing inactive subscribers is critical, as they contribute to negative engagement and increase the likelihood of spam complaints. Continuous list hygiene and improvement are essential for preventing future suspensions.
Key opinions
- Feedback Loops: Properly processing complaint feedback loops (FBLs) is crucial to identify and remove subscribers who mark emails as spam.
- Inactive Subscribers: Removing inactive subscribers reduces negative engagement and lowers the risk of spam complaints.
- List Hygiene: Regular list hygiene and continuous improvement are essential for maintaining a healthy email list and preventing future suspensions.
Key considerations
- FBL Implementation: Ensure that complaint feedback loops are correctly implemented and monitored to effectively identify and remove complainers.
- Inactivity Threshold: Define clear criteria for identifying inactive subscribers and establish a process for their removal.
- Continuous Improvement: Commit to continuous improvement of email practices and regular list hygiene to maintain a positive sender reputation.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains it is important to remove inactive subscribers. Inactive subscribers can result in negative engagement such as spam complaints. Work to ensure you continue to improve and conduct regular list hygiene.
10 Apr 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that you should ensure you're properly processing complaint feedback loops (FBLs). This allows you to identify and remove subscribers who are marking your emails as spam, which is essential for reducing complaint rates and preventing future suspensions.
20 Apr 2025 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
If your IP is suspended from Validity Certification due to high complaint rates, documentation suggests a multi-faceted approach. First, identify and address the root cause by improving list hygiene, ensuring clear opt-in processes, and sending relevant content. Tools like Google Postmaster Tools can help monitor your domain's reputation and complaint rates. Maintaining consistent sending volumes, as highlighted by SparkPost, is also essential for building trust with mailbox providers. If you believe the suspension is in error, Microsoft's Sender Support form allows you to request mitigation, but only after reviewing and correcting your sending practices.
Key findings
- Address Root Cause: Improving list hygiene, opt-in processes, and content relevance is crucial for reducing complaint rates.
- Monitor Reputation: Tools like Google Postmaster Tools help monitor domain reputation and spam complaint rates, allowing for proactive issue identification.
- Consistency: Maintaining consistent sending volumes helps build trust with mailbox providers and avoids triggering spam filters.
- Mitigation Request: Microsoft's Sender Support form can be used to request mitigation if the suspension is believed to be in error, but only after correcting sending practices.
Key considerations
- Everest Monitoring: Use Validity Everest to track progress and ensure the 30-day rolling average of complaint rates falls below the required threshold.
- Authentication: Ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve sender reputation and deliverability.
- Unsubscribe Handling: Review and ensure proper handling of unsubscribe requests to avoid further complaints.
- Sending Practices Review: Thoroughly review all sending practices to identify and correct any issues contributing to high complaint rates before requesting mitigation.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains using Postmaster Tools to monitor your domain's reputation and spam complaint rates. High spam complaint rates can negatively impact deliverability, so it's important to identify and address the underlying issues, such as sending unwanted or unexpected email.
13 Jul 2022 - Google
Technical article
Documentation from Validity explains that to regain compliance after a suspension, you must address the root cause of the high complaint rates. This involves improving list hygiene, ensuring clear opt-in processes, and sending relevant content. Monitor your metrics in Everest to track progress and ensure the 30-day rolling average falls below the threshold.
5 Apr 2023 - Validity
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