Summary
The decision to use a pooled (shared) IP address in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC), especially when already managing high-volume sends on a dedicated IP, involves balancing cost, effort, and deliverability risk. While a dedicated IP offers control, shared IPs can provide immediate reputation and avoid the full IP warming process. However, the quality of shared pools varies significantly, and even on shared IPs, domain warming remains crucial. For smaller, less frequent sends, a well-managed shared pool might be viable, but the potential for reputation contamination from other senders is a significant concern.
Key findings
- Volume guidance: Salesforce Marketing Cloud provides recommended daily sending volumes for dedicated IPs, such as 2.5 million messages. Exceeding this is possible, but carefully managing send speed is important.
- Domain warming: IP warming principles extend to domain reputation. Even on a shared IP, you must gradually build positive sending history for your domain.
- Shared pool quality: SFMC's general shared IP pools can sometimes suffer from reputation issues due to the sending practices of other clients in the same pool. This means that if you're exploring what is a shared IP address, consider the impact on your deliverability.
- Alternative options: Consider sharing an existing, well-reputed dedicated IP across business units or adding a second dedicated IP for redundancy and isolated reputation management.
Key considerations
- Sender reputation: Maintaining a strong sender reputation is paramount. A dedicated IP gives you full control, while a shared IP means your reputation is influenced by others. Decide when should you use a shared IP address versus dedicated.
- Email volume and frequency: For lower volumes (e.g., 100K-250K/month) that are consistent, a shared IP might suffice. However, higher or bursty volumes often benefit from dedicated IPs.
- Risk tolerance: Assess the risk of deliverability degradation if sharing a problematic pool versus the initial effort of IP warming for a new dedicated IP.
- SFMC guidance: Review Salesforce's official guidance on dedicated IPs to inform your decision. You can find their advice here: Salesforce Marketing Cloud dedicated IP article.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often face practical dilemmas when deciding on IP strategy within platforms like SFMC, weighing perceived benefits against potential pitfalls. Their experiences highlight the complexities of shared IP environments, particularly concerning reputation management and the often-misunderstood aspect of domain warming.
Key opinions
- Shared IP quality: Many marketers express concern that SFMC's general shared IP pools can have reputation issues, negatively impacting deliverability due to other senders. This leads to questions like what to do when SFMC shared IP reputation tanks.
- Domain warming requirements: Contrary to some initial assumptions, domain warming is still necessary even when using a shared IP, as reputation is tied to both the IP and the sending domain.
- Dedicated IP sharing: A common suggestion is to share an existing, well-performing dedicated IP across multiple business units rather than opting for a general public shared IP pool.
- Exceeding volume guidance: Some marketers have experience successfully sending volumes significantly above Salesforce's stated daily limits on a single dedicated IP, suggesting flexibility based on sending practices.
Key considerations
- Initial shared usage: One approach is to begin on a shared IP to test the pool's performance, then transition to a dedicated IP if deliverability becomes an issue.
- Reputation isolation: Marketers frequently emphasize the importance of isolating different types of mail or business units. This helps prevent deliverability issues, such as high-spam emails from a shared IP negatively impacting other campaigns.
- Salesforce policies: Awareness of Salesforce's internal policies regarding shared IP access is important, as these can impact the feasibility of joining a shared pool.
- Dedicated vs. shared: A general consensus among marketers suggests that a dedicated IP for marketing emails is far less likely to face blocking than a shared IP. You can read more about this on Quora: Dedicated or shared IP for transactional emails?
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests that domain warming is still necessary even on a shared IP, making it not a valid reason to avoid warming. This marketer also noted sending 20M per day per IP with success and suggested a second dedicated IP for redundancy if volume supports it.
Marketer view
A marketer from Quora suggests that a shared IP for marketing emails is much more likely to get blacklisted than a dedicated IP used only for transactional messages. If high-volume marketing email is necessary, dedicated IPs are generally preferred.
What the experts say
Deliverability experts provide a nuanced perspective on shared versus dedicated IPs, emphasizing that the decision goes beyond simple volume numbers. They highlight the critical role of overall sending practices, list hygiene, and the ESP's (Email Service Provider's) management of its IP infrastructure in determining success.
Key opinions
- Reputation ownership: Dedicated IPs offer senders direct control over their reputation, allowing for more predictable deliverability. Shared IPs, by contrast, mean reputation is influenced by all senders in the pool.
- Traffic segregation: Experts often recommend separating different types of email traffic (e.g., transactional, marketing, promotional) onto distinct IPs or subdomains to manage reputation independently. This is part of how shared IP pools impact email sender reputation.
- ESP's role: The effectiveness of a shared IP pool heavily relies on the ESP's (like Salesforce Marketing Cloud) commitment to managing sender behavior and preventing abuse within those pools.
- Beyond volume: While volume guidelines exist, experts agree that overall sending behavior, consistent engagement, and low complaint rates are far more critical for deliverability than simply adhering to arbitrary numerical thresholds. This also impacts how sharing IP ranges affects email deliverability.
Key considerations
- Engagement metrics: Focus on driving positive engagement (opens, clicks, replies) and minimizing negative feedback (complaints, unsubscribes) to build a robust sender reputation.
- List hygiene: Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive or problematic subscribers. This is crucial for maintaining good deliverability, regardless of your IP setup.
- Monitoring tools: Utilize deliverability monitoring platforms to track your IP and domain reputation across various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and blocklists (or blacklists).
- Proactive management: Address any deliverability issues, such as increased bounce rates or blocklistings, promptly. This applies whether you are on a shared or dedicated IP. For additional insights, consider reading articles on SpamResource.com.
Expert view
Deliverability expert from Word to the Wise points out that shared IP addresses can offer immediate benefits through an established reputation, but they carry the inherent risk of being affected by other senders' poor practices.
Expert view
Email deliverability professional from SpamResource explains that for high-volume senders, dedicated IPs provide greater control and allow for isolated reputation management, which is crucial for consistent inbox placement.
What the documentation says
Official documentation from Salesforce Marketing Cloud and general email deliverability best practices provide foundational guidance on IP usage. These resources clarify the default settings for new accounts, explain the purpose of dedicated IPs, and outline key processes like IP warming.
Key findings
- Volume thresholds: Salesforce Marketing Cloud documentation often specifies recommended daily sending volumes for dedicated IPs to ensure optimal performance and reputation.
- Shared IP default: New accounts in SFMC are typically configured to use shared IP pools by default, indicating their suitability for initial or lower-volume sending scenarios.
- Purpose of dedicated IPs: Dedicated IPs are presented as a solution for senders with high volumes, specific branding needs, or those requiring greater control over their sender reputation, often obtained through a Sender Authentication Package (SAP).
- IP warming process: Documentation outlines that new dedicated IPs require a careful IP warming process, gradually increasing send volume to establish a positive reputation with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
Key considerations
- Adherence to guidelines: Following ESP volume guidelines is considered a best practice for maintaining optimal deliverability, even if not strictly enforced for all sends.
- Reputation impact: Documentation consistently stresses that the quality of your sending practices directly impacts your IP reputation, irrespective of whether the IP is shared or dedicated.
- Domain authentication: Proper configuration of email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential for deliverability. Refer to a simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
- IP warming: For specific best practices related to this process, you can explore information like is IP warming necessary when migrating ESPs to shared IPs. The Salesforce dedicated IP guide also contains further information: Salesforce Marketing Cloud dedicated IP guidance.
Technical article
Salesforce Marketing Cloud documentation states that new accounts are typically set up on shared IP pools, which are suitable for senders with lower or inconsistent sending volumes.
Technical article
A guide on email infrastructure recommends that a dedicated IP address allows for an isolated sending reputation, which simplifies identifying and managing deliverability issues directly linked to your sending practices.
Related resources
2 resources
Related pages
What is a shared IP address and how does it affect email deliverability?
When should I use a shared IP address over a dedicated IP address for email sending?
Does sending high-spam emails from a shared IP negatively impact other campaigns, and should they be isolated?
How does sharing IP ranges affect email deliverability and how can I manage IP reputation for different clients?
How do shared IP pools and sending domains impact email sender reputation for ESPs?
When sending a large email deployment on shared IPs, should I send in batches?
Is IP warming necessary when migrating ESPs to shared IPs, and what are the best practices?
When to consider multiple dedicated IPs for large email lists and what causes deliverability degradation?
When does using a dedicated IP address solve sending issues?
What to do when SFMC shared IP reputation tanks due to other senders?
