Is a dedicated IP address suitable for low volume transactional emails, and how do open/click tracking and cold emailing affect deliverability?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 24 Jun 2025
Updated 17 Aug 2025
10 min read
Many senders, particularly those with low email volumes, wonder if a dedicated IP address is the right choice for their transactional emails. The common assumption is that having a dedicated IP gives you more control and, therefore, better deliverability. However, the reality is more nuanced, especially for very low sending volumes like 20 messages per day.
My experience shows that for such minimal traffic, a dedicated IP can actually be detrimental to your sending reputation. Building a positive reputation requires consistent and sufficient email volume. Without enough email flowing through the IP, internet service providers (ISPs) and mailbox providers have little data to assess its trustworthiness, often leading to emails being flagged or delayed.
Furthermore, factors like open and click tracking, while valuable for analytics, can subtly influence inbox placement. Cold emailing, a practice often considered risky, presents its own set of significant challenges for deliverability, especially when combined with a low-volume dedicated IP. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for ensuring your emails reliably reach their intended inboxes.
Is a dedicated IP suitable for low volume transactional emails?
For transactional emails, which are critical for user experience, deliverability is paramount. These include password resets, order confirmations, and account notifications. While they are usually highly anticipated by recipients, the choice between a shared and dedicated IP address can significantly impact their arrival in the inbox, particularly for senders with a low volume of messages.
A dedicated IP address means your sending reputation is solely your responsibility. This is beneficial for high-volume senders, as they can consistently send enough mail to build and maintain a strong reputation. However, for a very low volume, like 20 transactional messages per day, there simply isn't enough traffic to establish a credible sending history. ISPs like Google and Gmail rely on volume and consistent positive engagement to trust an IP. Without it, your dedicated IP might appear dormant or suspicious, leading to deliverability issues.
In such low-volume scenarios, a shared IP address is generally more suitable. Shared IPs are used by many senders, distributing the volume and collective reputation across a larger pool. Email service providers (ESPs) actively manage the reputation of their shared IPs, ensuring a stable and often high-performing environment for low-volume senders. This allows your transactional emails to benefit from the established positive reputation of the shared IP pool. You can learn more about whether a dedicated IP is suitable for low-volume email senders and the minimum volume needed.
Some sources, like Twilio SendGrid, recommend a dedicated IP only if you send more than 50,000 emails per month. Below this threshold, it is often overkill and can lead to worse deliverability because the IP does not get enough volume to establish a good reputation. Moving to a dedicated IP might seem like an upgrade, but for low volumes, it often means moving from a well-managed, reputable shared environment to an un-warmed, unknown one.
How open and click tracking affect deliverability
Open and click tracking are standard features in email marketing platforms, providing valuable insights into recipient engagement. These features typically involve embedding a small, invisible pixel (for open tracking) and rewriting links (for click tracking) so they pass through the ESP's tracking domain before redirecting to the final destination. Most of the time, these elements do not negatively impact inbox placement.
However, there are rare instances where open and click tracking can affect deliverability. This usually occurs if the tracking domain itself has a poor reputation. If the domain used for tracking has been associated with spam, phishing, or other malicious activities, ISPs might flag emails containing links from that domain, regardless of the sender's primary domain reputation. As noted in a deliverability troubleshooting guide, tracking pixels and rewritten URLs can sometimes trigger spam filters.
The key is the reputation of the specific domain used for tracking. Even if your main sending domain is pristine, a compromised or poorly managed tracking domain can undermine your efforts. If an ESP uses a shared tracking domain that becomes tainted by other users, it can indirectly affect your email's deliverability. Most reputable ESPs diligently manage their tracking domains to prevent such issues.
For transactional emails, which prioritize delivery over extensive analytics, it is generally safe to use tracking. However, if you notice unexpected drops in deliverability, it's worth investigating if your tracking domain has a clean reputation. You can also explore methods to increase email click through rate while maintaining good deliverability practices.
The impact of cold emailing on deliverability
Cold emailing, or unsolicited outreach to individuals who have not opted in, is one of the riskiest email sending practices in terms of deliverability. Unlike transactional emails which are expected, cold emails often face immediate scrutiny from spam filters and can lead to high complaint rates, spam trap hits, and ultimately, a damaged sender reputation.
The danger is significantly amplified when cold emailing is attempted from a low-volume dedicated IP address. Because the IP has little to no established positive reputation, even a small number of complaints or negative interactions from cold emails can disproportionately harm its standing. This effectively creates a scenario where low volume + cold emails = spam folder forever. The negative signals outweigh any potential positive ones, making it nearly impossible to land in the inbox.
Cold emailing primarily impacts your domain reputation, rather than just the IP. While cold email systems may use shared IPs, perhaps even those belonging to Gmail, the recipient's ISP still associates the sending domain with the content. If your domain receives too many spam complaints or hits spam traps, it will quickly develop a poor reputation. This is why many cold emailers resort to using new, disposable domains, a practice that is itself a red flag to mailbox providers. You can read more about why your emails are going to spam and how to fix it.
For the best email deliverability, particularly for critical transactional messages, it is strongly advised to keep cold emailing completely separate from your primary sending infrastructure and domain. Ideally, cold emailing should be avoided altogether, as it conflicts with the permission-based email marketing principles that ISPs now heavily enforce. As highlighted in a cold emailer's guide, your email server IP address has a significant impact on deliverability.
Strategies for improving deliverability
Maintaining strong email deliverability, whether for transactional or marketing emails, relies on a combination of technical configurations and sending practices. By implementing these strategies, you can significantly improve your chances of reaching the inbox consistently.
IP choice: Shared vs. dedicated for low volume
Shared IP addresses
Cost-effective: Typically included with most ESP plans, no extra cost.
Managed reputation: ESPs actively manage and warm up the IP pool. Their reputation is shared among many users, which can be good if most send well.
Ideal for low volume: Benefits from collective sending volume, even if your individual volume is low.
Dedicated IP addresses
Full control: Your reputation is entirely your own responsibility.
Requires warming: Needs consistent, high-volume sending to build and maintain a good reputation. Inconsistent or low volume can lead to poor deliverability.
Better for high volume: Suitable for businesses sending hundreds of thousands or millions of emails monthly.
Email authentication
Ensure your emails are properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols verify that your emails are legitimate and prevent spoofing. Properly configured authentication is a fundamental pillar of good deliverability, signaling trust to mailbox providers. You can also monitor your DMARC reports to ensure your emails are passing authentication checks.
Consistent sending patterns
Maintain a consistent sending volume and schedule. Erratic sending patterns can trigger spam filters, regardless of your IP type. Even for transactional emails, try to distribute your volume evenly throughout the day, if possible, to avoid sudden spikes that might look suspicious.
List hygiene and engagement
Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive subscribers, bounces, and potential spam traps. High bounce rates and low engagement (low opens/clicks relative to sends) negatively impact your sender reputation, making you more susceptible to blocklisting (or blacklisting). Focus on sending to engaged recipients to signal positive behavior to ISPs. You can also use a free online email testing tool to test your emails.
Monitoring and recovery
Keep a close eye on your deliverability metrics, including open rates, click rates, bounce rates, and spam complaint rates. Utilize tools like Google Postmaster Tools to monitor your domain and IP reputation. Regularly check email blocklists and take immediate action if you find yourself listed. Understanding how email blacklists work is essential for quick recovery.
Final considerations for email deliverability
When making decisions about your email sending infrastructure, it is important to understand that a dedicated IP address is not a universal solution for deliverability. While it offers unparalleled control for high-volume senders, its benefits diminish rapidly with low sending volumes, potentially leading to worse inbox placement than a well-managed shared IP. Your client's move to a dedicated IP for only 20 transactional emails a day highlights a common misconception that more control automatically means better outcomes.
Similarly, while open and click tracking are generally harmless and provide valuable data, their impact can turn negative if the underlying tracking domain suffers from a poor reputation. The biggest threat to your sender reputation, however, comes from practices like cold emailing. Such unsolicited outreach, especially when combined with a low-volume dedicated IP, almost guarantees emails will land in the spam folder, severely damaging both your domain and IP reputation.
Ultimately, successful email deliverability hinges on building and maintaining a positive sender reputation through consistent, permission-based sending, proper authentication, and diligent monitoring. Choosing the right IP type for your specific volume and avoiding high-risk sending behaviors are crucial steps in ensuring your important messages consistently reach the inbox.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Opt for a shared IP address when sending low volumes of transactional emails to leverage the collective reputation of the ESP's IP pool.
Maintain consistent sending habits and gradually increase volume if you transition to a dedicated IP, known as IP warming.
Implement strong email authentication protocols, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
Regularly clean your email lists to remove invalid or unengaged addresses to avoid high bounce rates and spam traps.
Monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools to identify and address issues proactively.
Separate transactional email sending from marketing or cold email campaigns to protect the integrity of your core email streams.
Common pitfalls
Using a dedicated IP for very low email volumes can prevent it from building a strong, positive reputation with ISPs, leading to poor deliverability.
Ignoring the reputation of your tracking domain can lead to deliverability issues, even if your main sending domain is clean.
Engaging in cold emailing, especially from a new or low-volume IP, will almost certainly result in high spam rates and blacklisting.
Failing to authenticate emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC weakens sender trust and increases the likelihood of emails being flagged as spam.
Neglecting list hygiene by sending to outdated or unengaged contacts can lead to spam complaints and damage your sender reputation.
Not monitoring your email deliverability metrics or blocklist status means you might be unaware of problems until it's too late.
Expert tips
If a client insists on a dedicated IP for low volume, advise them on the necessary IP warming process and the risks involved.
For open and click tracking, ensure that the tracking domain used by your ESP has a solid reputation and is not shared with spammers.
Educate clients about the severe negative impact of cold emailing on domain reputation and overall deliverability.
Emphasize the importance of domain reputation over IP reputation for cold emailing, as domains are more easily tainted and discarded in this context.
Suggest setting up separate domains and infrastructure if cold emailing is unavoidable, to protect the primary sending domain and IP.
Advise clients to focus on legitimate, permission-based email practices to build long-term, sustainable deliverability.
Marketer view
A dedicated IP is not advisable for low email volumes because there won't be enough traffic to build a reliable reputation.
2023-11-09 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Moving back to a shared IP is the recommended action for very low transactional email volumes to ensure better deliverability.
Gmail, the recipient's ISP still associates the sending domain with the content. If your domain receives too many spam complaints or hits spam traps, it will quickly develop a poor reputation. This is why many cold emailers resort to using new, disposable domains, a practice that is itself a red flag to mailbox providers. You can read more about why your emails are going to spam and how to fix it.
