Summary
G Suite emails often land in spam primarily due to the use of shared IP addresses, where the actions of other users can negatively impact your sending reputation. This includes activities like scraping addresses (identified by Project Honeypot), sending to harvested emails, and general spamming. Domain reputation is crucial, and while IP blacklisting can occur, focusing on building a positive domain reputation is essential. Proactively monitor your IP and domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. Implement email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintain a clean email list, gradually warm up your IP, avoid spam trigger words, create engaging content, and keep bounce rates low. Consider using a dedicated email service provider (ESP) instead of G Suite for promotional emails to have more control over your sending reputation.
Key findings
- Shared IPs: G Suite uses shared IPs, which means your sending reputation is affected by the behavior of other users on the same IP.
- Domain Reputation Matters: Domain reputation is more important than IP blacklisting for G Suite deliverability.
- Proactive Monitoring is Key: Regularly monitoring your IP and domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools helps identify deliverability issues.
- Authentication is Essential: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records helps authenticate your emails and improves deliverability.
- List Hygiene is Crucial: Maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive or invalid addresses reduces bounce rates and improves sender reputation.
- Warming Up IP Improves Reputation: Gradually warming up your G Suite IP builds a positive sending reputation.
- Avoid Spam Triggers: Avoid using spam trigger words and ensure your HTML is clean and not bloated.
- High Spam Complaints: High spam rates reported by Gmail users severely impact deliverability.
- Not Ideal for Promotional Emails: G Suite is generally not recommended for sending promotional emails due to the limitations of shared IPs.
- Project Honeypot risk: A Project Honeypot listing indicates address scraping or sending to harvested addresses.
Key considerations
- Monitor Reputation Regularly: Regularly check your IP and domain reputation to identify issues early and take corrective action.
- Implement Strong Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your identity and improve trust with email providers.
- Clean Your List Consistently: Remove inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses to reduce bounce rates and improve engagement.
- Warm-Up New IPs Gradually: If you're starting with a new IP or domain, warm it up slowly to build a good sending reputation.
- Optimize Email Content: Avoid spammy language, use clean HTML, and ensure your content is relevant and engaging for your audience.
- Segment Your Email List: Segment your email list to send targeted emails and reduce spam complaints.
- Consider a Dedicated ESP: For promotional emails, consider switching to a dedicated ESP that offers dedicated IPs to have better control over your sending reputation and deliverability.
- Avoid Scraping Addresses: Ensure you are not scraping email addresses from websites.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
G Suite emails often end up in spam due to shared IP addresses, where the actions of other users can negatively impact your sending reputation. Key strategies to improve deliverability include proactively monitoring your IP/domain reputation, implementing email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining a clean email list, gradually warming up your IP, avoiding spam trigger words, creating engaging content, and keeping bounce rates low. Utilizing tools like Google Postmaster Tools is also recommended.
Key opinions
- Shared IPs: G Suite uses shared IPs, so the sending behavior of other users affects your reputation.
- Proactive Monitoring: Monitoring IP/domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools is crucial.
- Email Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC helps prove you're a legitimate sender.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive addresses is important.
- IP Warmup: Gradually warming up your IP builds a positive sending reputation.
- Content: Avoiding spam trigger words and creating engaging content improves deliverability.
- Bounce Rate: Keeping bounce rates low signals good sending practices to mailbox providers.
Key considerations
- Monitor Reputation: Regularly check your IP and domain reputation to identify issues early.
- Authenticate Emails: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your identity and improve trust.
- Clean Your List: Remove inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses to reduce bounce rates and improve engagement.
- Warm-Up Gradually: If you're starting with a new IP, warm it up slowly to build a good sending reputation.
- Optimize Content: Avoid spammy language, use clean HTML, and ensure your content is relevant and engaging.
- Segment Your List: Send targeted emails to segmented lists to improve engagement and reduce spam complaints.
- Use a dedicated ESP: Consider switching from shared IP service to a dedicated ESP with a dedicated IP address.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus shares that maintaining a clean email list by regularly removing inactive or invalid addresses is crucial. Sending to non-existent addresses can lead to blacklisting and negatively impact your sender reputation.
13 Oct 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that you can improve email deliverability by using a familiar sending name and address, segmenting your lists, creating engaging content and testing before sending.
26 Oct 2024 - HubSpot
What the experts say
6 expert opinions
G Suite emails frequently land in spam due to the shared IP environment, leading to reputation issues stemming from other users' sending practices. Blacklisting can result from activities like scraping addresses (Project Honeypot) or sending to harvested addresses. While IP blacklisting might occur, domain reputation plays a more significant role in deliverability. Experts advise against using G Suite for promotional emails and suggest opting for a dedicated email service provider (ESP) to maintain a better sending reputation.
Key opinions
- Shared IPs: G Suite uses shared IPs, meaning your sending reputation is affected by other users.
- Project Honeypot: A Project Honeypot listing indicates address scraping or sending to harvested addresses.
- Domain Reputation: Domain reputation is more critical than IP blacklisting for G Suite email deliverability.
- Not for Promo: G Suite is generally not recommended for sending promotional emails due to shared IP limitations.
Key considerations
- Avoid Scraping: Ensure you are not scraping email addresses from websites, as this can lead to blacklisting.
- Assess Sending Practices: Evaluate your own sending practices and those of others on your shared IP (if possible) to identify potential issues.
- Focus on Reputation: Prioritize building and maintaining a positive domain reputation through ethical sending practices.
- Consider Dedicated ESP: If sending promotional emails, consider switching to a dedicated ESP for more control over your sending reputation.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that Google IPs are often considered 'spam sewers' and that filters are working as intended if cold emails are being filtered. The problem might not be the sending IP if the emails are going to spam in Hotmail.
2 Feb 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource shares that one of the primary reasons for G Suite emails going to spam is the use of shared IP addresses. Since multiple users share the same IP, the actions of others can negatively impact your sending reputation, leading to deliverability issues.
14 Jun 2023 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
G Suite IP blacklisting and emails landing in spam stem from several factors. Shared IP addresses mean that your email sending reputation is linked to other users' practices. High spam rates reported by Gmail users significantly reduce deliverability, emphasizing the need to maintain rates below 0.10%. Other causes include spam complaints, sending to invalid addresses, compromised accounts, and inadequate email authentication. Organizations like Spamhaus actively track and combat spam, impacting deliverability.
Key findings
- Shared IPs: G Suite's shared IP addresses mean other users' actions impact your deliverability.
- High Spam Rate: High spam rates reported by Gmail users severely affect deliverability.
- Blacklisting Causes: Blacklisting can occur due to spam complaints, invalid addresses, and compromised accounts.
- Authentication: Poor email authentication practices contribute to deliverability issues.
- Spamhaus' Role: Organizations like Spamhaus track spam and cyber threats, influencing deliverability.
Key considerations
- Monitor Spam Rate: Keep your spam rate below 0.10% to avoid filtering problems.
- Improve Authentication: Implement strong email authentication practices (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
- Address Blacklisting Causes: Prevent spam complaints, avoid sending to invalid addresses, and secure accounts.
- Understand External Impacts: Recognize that organizations like Spamhaus can influence your deliverability.
- Use Postmaster Tools: Regularly check Google Postmaster Tools to analyze spam rate and other deliverability data.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that a shared IP address used by Google Workspace means your email sending reputation is affected by other users. If their emails are marked as spam, it can impact the deliverability of your messages.
19 Dec 2022 - Google Workspace Admin Help
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that they are an international nonprofit organization that tracks spam and related cyber threats like phishing, malware and botnets, provides dependable real-time anti-spam protection for Internet networks.
20 Mar 2024 - Spamhaus
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