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

Summary

Emails sent to Apple domains (icloud.com, me.com, mac.com) can experience lower open rates and increased bounce rates due to a multifaceted set of issues. Key contributing factors include strict spam filtering, inflated open rates due to Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP), sender reputation problems, improper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), sending to over-capacity mailboxes, sudden spikes in email volume, inadequate list hygiene, use of spam trigger words, lack of personalization, and technical rendering issues. Remediation strategies encompass maintaining a strong sender reputation, employing proper authentication methods, regularly cleaning email lists, gradually increasing sending volume, personalizing email content, avoiding spam trigger words, testing rendering across various clients, monitoring SMTP bounce codes, adhering to Apple's technical requirements, checking blocklists, and facilitating easy unsubscription.

Key findings

Sender Reputation: Maintaining a good sender reputation through practices like IP warming, providing valuable content, and promptly managing bounces/complaints is critical.
Email Authentication: Correct configuration and implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are vital for verifying email authenticity and preventing spoofing attempts.
List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists to remove inactive, invalid, or unengaged addresses minimizes bounce rates and improves deliverability.
Volume Management: Gradually increasing sending volume helps establish a positive sender reputation and prevents being flagged as spam.
Content Optimization: Personalizing emails and avoiding spam trigger words can improve deliverability and engagement with Apple domains.
Rendering Testing: Testing email rendering across different clients, including Apple Mail, ensures emails display correctly and avoids triggering spam filters due to coding errors.
MPP Impact: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates, so focusing on other engagement metrics like clicks and conversions is crucial.
Technical Compliance: Adhering to Apple's specific technical requirements for mail servers, including DNS configuration and SSL certificates, is essential.
Over Quota Bounces: High soft bounce rates may stem from recipients' mailboxes being over capacity, requiring a strategy of not re-sending to these addresses.

Key considerations

Monitor Bounce Codes: Analyzing SMTP error codes provides insights into the reasons for email rejections by Apple's servers, enabling targeted remediation efforts.
Check Blocklists: Regularly check IP and domain reputation against blocklists to identify and address any potential blacklisting issues promptly.
Provide Unsubscribe Options: Offering a clear and easy-to-use unsubscribe link in every email is vital for compliance and improving sender reputation.
Investigate Blocking Issues: If emails are blocked, thoroughly investigate the potential causes, considering factors like IP reputation and authentication issues.
Consider CSI/Proofpoint: Be aware that CSI is now part of Proofpoint and may influence spam filtering, though its exact impact on Apple's filtering is not entirely clear.
Contact Apple Postmaster: Reach out to Apple's postmaster for direct assistance in diagnosing and resolving ongoing deliverability challenges.

What email marketers say

9 marketer opinions

Emails to Apple domains (iCloud, me.com, mac.com) may experience lower open rates and higher bounce rates due to a combination of factors. These include strict spam filters, the use of Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) which can inflate open rates, sender reputation issues, poor email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), sending to over-capacity mailboxes, sudden increases in sending volume, poor list hygiene, the use of spam trigger words, lack of email personalization, and rendering issues. Remediation steps involve maintaining a good sender reputation, warming up IP addresses, using proper email authentication, cleaning email lists, gradually increasing sending volume, personalizing emails, avoiding spam trigger words, testing email rendering, and monitoring bounce codes for insights into delivery problems.

Key opinions

Sender Reputation: A positive sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability to Apple domains. Strategies include IP warming, consistent content delivery, and managing bounces/complaints.
Authentication: Proper implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is necessary to verify email authenticity and prevent spoofing, improving deliverability.
List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists by removing inactive, invalid, or unengaged addresses is essential to reduce bounce rates.
Volume Control: Sudden increases in sending volume can negatively impact deliverability. A gradual ramp-up is recommended to establish sender reputation.
Content Matters: Avoiding spam trigger words and personalizing email content can help bypass spam filters and improve engagement.
Rendering Issues: Testing emails across different clients, including Apple Mail, helps identify and fix rendering issues that could trigger spam filters.
MPP Impact: Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) can artificially inflate open rates, making it necessary to rely on other metrics like clicks and conversions.
Over-capacity Mailboxes: High soft bounces rates can be due to over-capacity mailboxes.

Key considerations

Monitor Bounce Codes: Pay attention to SMTP error codes to understand the reasons for email rejections and take appropriate action.
Check Blocklists: Regularly check IP and domain reputation against blocklists to identify and resolve any potential blacklisting issues.
Provide Unsubscribe: Ensure a clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe link is included in every email to comply with regulations and improve sender reputation.
Postmaster Communication: If issues arise, contact Apple's postmaster via email to help diagnose deliverability problems.

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests testing email rendering across different email clients and devices, including Apple Mail. Ensure your email displays correctly and avoids triggering spam filters due to coding errors or broken elements, which can negatively impact open rates.

28 Mar 2022 - Email on Acid

Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that maintaining a good sender reputation is vital. This involves warming up your IP address, consistently sending valuable content, removing inactive subscribers, and promptly handling bounces and complaints to ensure better delivery to Apple domains.

18 Sep 2022 - Mailjet

What the experts say

4 expert opinions

Emails to Apple domains may face deliverability and open rate challenges due to several factors. Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) inflates open rates, making engagement measurement difficult, suggesting a shift to click and conversion metrics. Issues arise from emails being blocked, requiring investigation of causes and remediation steps. Additionally, while CSI is now part of Proofpoint, it's uncertain if iCloud cleans abandoned addresses, but 'over quota' status often signals inactive accounts.

Key opinions

Mail Privacy Protection: Apple's MPP skews open rates, necessitating a focus on clicks and conversions for accurate engagement tracking.
Blocked Emails: Deliverability problems, such as emails being blocked at privaterelay.appleid.com, require specific investigation and troubleshooting.
Inactive Accounts: Mailboxes marked as 'over quota' likely indicate abandoned or inactive accounts, though iCloud's cleanup practices are unknown.
CSI and Proofpoint: CSI is now integrated with Proofpoint, but the exact impact on deliverability to Apple domains is unclear.

Key considerations

Engagement Metrics: Rely less on open rates due to MPP and prioritize metrics like clicks, conversions, and other engagement signals.
Troubleshooting Blocks: When emails are blocked, thoroughly investigate the potential causes, utilizing suggestions and insights from resources like Spamresource.com.
List Management: Maintain email list hygiene by removing inactive accounts, potentially identified by 'over quota' statuses, to improve deliverability.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks mentions CSI is now part of Proofpoint.

3 Mar 2025 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states they don’t know if Icloud does a periodic clean up of abandoned addresses but over quota is a pretty good indicator that the addresses are not used.

29 Jul 2021 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says

4 technical articles

Emails to Apple domains require strict adherence to technical and security standards. Proper DNS configuration, valid SSL certificates, and adherence to email standards are essential. Implementing DMARC, along with SPF and DKIM, protects against spoofing and phishing. Analyzing SMTP bounce codes helps diagnose rejection reasons. Comprehensive email security practices, including strong authentication, build trust and improve deliverability.

Key findings

Technical Requirements: Apple domains have specific technical requirements for mail servers, including correct DNS configuration and valid SSL certificates.
Email Standards: Adherence to email standards is crucial for ensuring proper delivery and avoiding bounces to Apple domains.
Email Authentication: Implementing DMARC, SPF, and DKIM is important for verifying the authenticity of emails and preventing spoofing.
Bounce Code Analysis: Analyzing SMTP bounce codes provides insights into the reasons why emails are rejected by Apple's servers.
Email Security: Implementing email security best practices, including strong authentication protocols, helps build trust and improve deliverability.

Key considerations

DNS Configuration: Ensure your DNS configuration, including PTR records, is correctly set up to meet Apple's requirements.
SSL Certificates: Use valid SSL certificates to encrypt email traffic and establish trust with Apple's servers.
DMARC Implementation: Properly configure DMARC to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks.
Bounce Code Monitoring: Regularly monitor and analyze SMTP bounce codes to identify and address any deliverability issues with Apple domains.

Technical article

Documentation from Cisco offers advice on implementing various email security best practices. This includes using strong authentication protocols and preventing phishing attacks by educating users, which helps build trust and improve deliverability to Apple's domains.

4 Mar 2022 - Cisco

Technical article

Documentation from DMARC.org details how to implement DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing. Proper DMARC configuration, along with SPF and DKIM, can improve deliverability by verifying the authenticity of your emails to Apple and other email providers.

9 Oct 2024 - DMARC.org