Summary
ISPs consider various factors beyond simple spam report counts when evaluating sender reputation. They analyze the source and frequency of complaints, user engagement, and the age of reports, and may use different algorithms to weigh reports based on their origin. User engagement is crucial, with high engagement lessening the impact of individual spam reports. List hygiene, sending cadence, and email quality all play significant roles in minimizing complaints. High complaint rates, coupled with hitting spam traps, severely damage sender reputation. Tools like complaint feedback loops (FBLs) provide data to senders. Organizations like Spamhaus penalize bad sending practices and high complaint levels and various documentations (AWS SES, Microsoft SNDS, Google) track complaint data to measure sender reputations. Following best practices and adhering to RFC standards and actively managing subscriber lists and send rates are essential.
Key findings
- Complaint Source & Frequency: ISPs analyze spam reports based on their source (single vs. bulk) and frequency (sudden spikes vs. consistent reports).
- User Engagement Impact: High user engagement can reduce the negative impact of single spam reports.
- List Hygiene Importance: Good list hygiene (removing inactive users) minimizes the risk of spam complaints.
- Sending Cadence Matters: Maintaining an appropriate sending cadence ensures subscribers don't feel overwhelmed and mark emails as spam.
- Email Quality is Key: High-quality, recognizable email content reduces spam reports due to confusion.
- Multiple factors: ISPs may use spam traps and other methods to evaluate senders in addition to user complaints.
- FBLs are useful: Complaint feedback loops are helpful for identifying problems
Key considerations
- Monitor Spam Complaints: Continuously monitor spam complaint rates to identify and address potential issues proactively.
- Improve List Hygiene Regularly: Clean email lists regularly to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers.
- Optimize Sending Cadence Carefully: Send emails at a frequency that keeps subscribers engaged without overwhelming them or leading to them marking the sender as spam.
- Enhance Email Quality Consistently: Ensure emails are clear, relevant, and easily recognizable to recipients.
- Track Engagement Metrics Closely: Monitor user engagement metrics to identify potential issues and segment users effectively.
- Utilize FBLs: Use feedback loops and other reporting tools to monitor and mitigate delivery issues.
- Follow Best Practice: Adhere to best practices and RFC standards to mitigate complaints.
What email marketers say
8 marketer opinions
ISPs differentiate between single and bulk spam reports when evaluating sender reputation. Factors considered include the source and frequency of complaints, user engagement, list hygiene, sending cadence, and email quality. High engagement reduces the impact of single spam reports, while consistent reports from diverse users carry more weight. Maintaining good list hygiene, sending emails at appropriate cadences, and ensuring high-quality, recognizable content are crucial for minimizing spam complaints and maintaining a positive sender reputation. ISPs also use methods beyond user complaints, such as spam traps, to assess senders.
Key opinions
- Complaint Source: ISPs weigh spam reports based on the source. A single user reporting many emails may have less impact than multiple unique reporters.
- Complaint Frequency: A sudden spike in spam complaints from a single source may trigger scrutiny.
- User Engagement: High user engagement can reduce the negative impact of single spam reports.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining good list hygiene minimizes the chance of users marking emails as spam.
- Email Quality: High-quality, recognizable emails reduce the chance of spam reports due to confusion.
Key considerations
- Monitor Complaints: Continuously monitor spam complaint rates to identify and address potential issues.
- Improve List Hygiene: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers.
- Optimize Sending Cadence: Send emails at a frequency that keeps subscribers engaged without overwhelming them.
- Enhance Email Quality: Ensure emails are clear, relevant, and easily recognizable to recipients.
- Track Engagement: Monitor user engagement metrics to identify potential issues and segment users effectively.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus shares that its best to send emails at a good sending cadence and frequency that users will remember, but not be spammed by. If users are marked as spam it will lower the senders reputation.
20 Aug 2021 - Litmus
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that user engagement signals are crucial. High engagement with previous emails from a sender will likely reduce the impact of a single spam report from that user.
25 Aug 2024 - Mailjet
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
ISPs likely process spam reports regardless of whether they are single or bulk, though it's not explicitly stated if bulk reports are discounted. There's a possibility that older spam reports are weighted differently than recent ones, with speculation suggesting a cutoff point for their impact on sender reputation. Complaint feedback loops provide valuable data, with some offering aggregate counts that impact sender reputation and others providing individual reports for deeper insight. High complaint rates overall serve as a clear indicator that the mail stream isn't well-received, necessitating investigation and action by email senders.
Key opinions
- Processing of Reports: ISPs process spam reports even when submitted in bulk, although it's unclear if they're discounted.
- Age of Reports: Older spam reports may be weighted differently than recent ones, with a potential cutoff for their impact.
- FBL Data: Complaint feedback loops (FBLs) offer essential data: aggregate counts impacting sender reputation and individual reports offering deeper insights.
- Complaint Rates: High complaint rates indicate that the mail stream isn't well-received and requires investigation.
Key considerations
- Investigate Complaint Spikes: Carefully investigate the cause of any sudden spikes in complaint rates.
- Utilize FBLs: Actively use Complaint Feedback Loops to monitor spam complaints and identify potential issues.
- Analyze Complaint Data: Analyze both aggregate and individual complaint data to understand the reasons behind spam reports.
- Address Delivery Issues: Take corrective action based on complaint data to improve email deliverability.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that while ISPs don't explicitly state whether they discount spam reports when a user reports hundreds of emails at once, they do send the reports. He assumes these reports count unless proven otherwise.
27 Apr 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares her gut feeling is ISPs don’t necessarily evaluate old reports the same as recent complaints, based on a past interaction with AOL. She suspects there is a cutoff for the age of an email and its impact on reputation but states it's speculation.
25 Apr 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Email providers like Google and Microsoft actively monitor spam rates and user feedback, indicating a sophisticated analysis that goes beyond simple counts, potentially considering the source and user history of reports. Standards like RFC 5322 provide the underlying framework for ISPs to analyze email content and context in conjunction with spam reports. Organizations like Spamhaus penalize senders with high complaint rates or bad sending practices. AWS SES also measures complaints and may block senders who don't follow best practices, showing the significance of managing complaint rates.
Key findings
- Granular Spam Analysis: Google's monitoring of spam rates and user feedback suggests a more granular analysis than just the total number of reports.
- Complaint Rate Tracking: Microsoft's SNDS tracks complaint rates and sender reputation, implying a differentiation between various spam report types.
- Underlying Standards: RFC 5322 provides the format standards used by ISPs to analyse content.
- Penalization for High Complaints: Spamhaus penalizes senders who have high complaint rates or exhibit poor sending practices.
- AWS SES Complaint Monitoring: AWS SES measures complaints and may block senders not adhering to best practices.
Key considerations
- Proactive Spam Management: Implement proactive spam management to minimise complaints.
- Sender Best Practices: Follow sender best practices to mitigate spam complaints and maintain a strong sender reputation.
- Review RFC Standards: Understand the underlying standards of RFCs.
- Monitor Sender Reputation: Utilize tools such as SNDS to monitor sender reputation.
- Comply with AWS SES: Ensure AWS SES policies are followed to ensure sending isn't blocked.
Technical article
Documentation from RFC Editor discusses message format. While not directly addressing spam reports, it explains the underlying standards used by ISPs to analyze email content, context and origins which is used in conjunction with spam reports.
23 Jun 2023 - RFC Editor
Technical article
Documentation from Google explains that they monitor spam rates and user feedback, suggesting they analyze reports beyond just the sheer number and likely consider the source and user history.
2 Dec 2024 - Google
Are abuse reports and feedback loops (FBLs) still useful in email marketing, and how do they work with different email clients?
Are spam complaint rates siloed by provider affecting deliverability?
Do ISPs provide 'not spam' feedback data, and how can ESPs use it?
How accurate are SNDS colors in reflecting email delivery performance?
How can I accurately monitor complaint rates for email marketing using Google Postmaster Tools, Yahoo FBL, and my ESP?
How do spam complaints and user interaction affect domain reputation?
How do spam complaints from Google and Yahoo inform ESPs, and how should ARF reports be used?
