Why is my transactional IP reputation neutral in Talos?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 6 Jun 2025
Updated 30 Sep 2025
7 min read
It can be unsettling to see your transactional IP reputation flagged as 'neutral' by Talos, especially when your other IPs are performing well and you've put in the effort to warm them up correctly. I recently encountered this situation with a transactional IP that had been warmed for over a month and was maintaining good reputations across Gmail Postmaster Tools and SNDS. Initially, Talos also showed a good rating, but then it unexpectedly dipped to neutral.
This experience isn't uncommon. While a 'poor' or 'bad' rating clearly indicates a problem, a 'neutral' status can be ambiguous. It suggests that Talos hasn't detected significant malicious activity, but it also lacks enough positive signals to confidently assign a 'good' or 'trusted' reputation. For transactional email streams, which often have unique sending patterns, this neutrality can raise questions about deliverability.
Understanding why this happens is crucial for maintaining optimal email deliverability. Factors such as sending volume consistency, the nature of transactional content, and the overall engagement metrics play a significant role in how services like Talos evaluate your IP reputation. Let's delve into the common reasons behind a neutral rating for transactional IPs and what steps you can take.
Understanding Talos IP reputation
Talos, Cisco's threat intelligence organization, is one of the world's largest commercial threat intelligence teams. It collects and analyzes vast amounts of data to assess the reputation of IP addresses, domains, and files. For email, Talos IP reputation helps determine if an IP is a trustworthy sender or a potential source of spam.
A 'neutral' reputation in Talos typically means that there isn't enough evidence, either positive or negative, for Talos to confidently assign a 'good' or 'poor' rating. It's often the default state for new IPs or IPs with inconsistent traffic. Cisco's documentation confirms this, stating that without sufficient email reports, the Reputation Center might assign a 'Neutral' reputation to an IP. You can find more details on sender IP reputation levels here.
Talos analyzes various signals, including sending volume, complaint rates, spam trap hits, and engagement data, to build a comprehensive picture of an IP's sending behavior. If these signals are too low, too inconsistent, or simply don't fall neatly into the 'good' or 'bad' categories, 'neutral' becomes the most appropriate classification.
Level
Meaning
Impact on deliverability
Trusted/Good
Consistent positive sending behavior, low spam complaints, high engagement.
Optimal deliverability to the inbox.
Neutral
Insufficient positive or negative data, common for new or low-volume senders.
Moderate deliverability, possible delays or filtering to spam folders.
Poor/Untrusted
High complaint rates, spam trap hits, or other malicious activity detected.
Severe deliverability issues, emails often blocked or sent to spam.
Why transactional IPs might fluctuate
Transactional emails, by nature, often differ significantly from marketing emails in terms of volume and sending patterns. While marketing emails might be sent in large, predictable bursts, transactional emails such as password resets, order confirmations, and account alerts can be highly variable. This inconsistency can make it challenging for reputation systems to establish a clear, consistent profile for the IP.
For example, an IP handling password resets might send a high volume after a system outage but remain relatively quiet during normal operations. This fluctuating volume, even if the content is legitimate and desired, can be interpreted as insufficient data by Talos, leading to a neutral rating. This is similar to how Gmail IP warming reputation can fluctuate with new IPs and domains, where consistent sending volume is key to building trust.
Another factor is complaint rates. Even with purely transactional emails like password resets, some users might mark them as spam, especially if they didn't initiate the request or forgot they had an account. While typically lower than marketing emails, these sporadic complaints, combined with variable volume, can impact how Talos perceives the IP, preventing it from reaching a consistently 'good' status.
Factors contributing to a neutral rating
A 'neutral' rating isn't necessarily a cause for alarm if your emails are still reaching the inbox. However, it's worth understanding the common factors that can prevent an IP from achieving a 'good' or 'trusted' reputation, even with seemingly clean sending practices. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of time and consistent, high-quality sending.
One key reason is the lack of overwhelmingly positive engagement signals. Transactional emails are expected, but users rarely click 'reply' or mark them as 'not spam' to boost reputation. While a low spam rate is essential, the absence of strong positive feedback can keep a reputation at neutral. It's like having a clean slate but not enough positive marks to differentiate yourself.
Scenario for a neutral rating
New IP or low sending volume: Not enough data for Talos to form a strong opinion, often defaulting to neutral.
Inconsistent sending patterns: Spiky transactional traffic makes it hard to build a consistent reputation profile.
Low but present complaint rates: Even a few complaints on transactional mail can prevent a 'good' rating without strong positive signals.
Likely impact on deliverability
Moderate inbox placement: Emails typically delivered, but some might experience delays or land in spam folders.
Increased scrutiny by receivers: ISPs might apply additional filtering rules due to the lack of a strong positive reputation.
Potential for temporary dips: Short-term issues or blocklistings could cause temporary reputation downgrades.
Occasionally, a neutral rating can also be a temporary blip. If your sending volume is steady and complaint rates are consistently low, it's possible for Talos to briefly downgrade an IP to neutral due to a minor, transient factor before restoring it to 'good.' This was indeed the case in the situation I encountered, where the IP's reputation returned to 'good' within a day.
What to do about a neutral Talos reputation
Even if your IP reputation is 'neutral' and your emails are still landing in the inbox, it's a good practice to proactively manage your sending to aim for a 'good' or 'trusted' status. This helps future-proof your deliverability and minimizes the risk of issues down the line. Continuous email deliverability monitoring is key.
First, ensure your email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly implemented. Strong authentication is a foundational element of good email deliverability. Also, regularly check your IPs against various blocklists (or blacklists) using a blocklist checker to catch any issues early. Even transactional IPs can sometimes end up on a blocklist despite sending legitimate email.
Proactive steps for transactional IP health
Monitor with a DMARC reporting tool: Suped provides the most generous free plan for DMARC reporting, giving you visibility into your authentication status.
Maintain low complaint rates: Even for transactional email, high complaint rates can damage your reputation. Regularly review feedback loops.
Send consistent volume: If possible, aim for a steady sending volume. Avoid drastic spikes and drops if they can be managed.
Regularly run an email deliverability test: A thorough checklist can help identify any underlying issues affecting your sender reputation.
Lastly, ensure your transactional emails are truly transactional, free from any promotional content. This helps maintain the expected nature of these emails and reduces the likelihood of users marking them as spam. Using a dedicated subdomain for transactional mail is also a recommended best practice.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Actively monitor all IP reputations across various tools, including Talos and Google Postmaster Tools.
Ensure strict separation between marketing and transactional email streams, using dedicated IPs and subdomains.
Maintain consistent email sending volumes, especially for transactional emails, to build reliable reputation.
Regularly check DMARC reports to spot authentication issues that could impact reputation signals.
Segment email lists to minimize spam complaints, even for user-initiated transactional messages.
Common pitfalls
Assuming a 'neutral' reputation is harmless and ignoring it, leading to potential future deliverability problems.
Mixing promotional links within transactional email footers, which can increase spam complaint rates.
Having inconsistent sending volumes for transactional IPs, which makes it harder for reputation systems to assess.
Not monitoring feedback loops for transactional emails, missing vital complaint data.
Failing to review authentication records, leading to alignment issues that impact trust.
Expert tips
A temporary dip to 'neutral' in Talos for transactional IPs can often be a transient issue, especially if other reputation metrics are good.
Transactional email reputation can be more volatile due to variable sending patterns and user behavior.
Ensure your transactional emails are purely functional, avoiding any marketing-like content that could trigger complaints.
Even low complaint rates on transactional mail can influence reputation if there's insufficient positive engagement.
Dedicated subdomains for transactional mail help isolate reputation and prevent issues from affecting your main domain.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that transactional reputation can indeed wobble a bit sometimes, so seeing a temporary dip to neutral is not entirely surprising.
2022-03-22 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks says they often observe high complaint rates on transactional mail, even for requests like password resets, which can be frustrating.
2022-03-22 - Email Geeks
Navigating your transactional IP reputation
A 'neutral' IP reputation in Talos for your transactional mail isn't necessarily a critical problem, especially if your emails are still being delivered and other reputation metrics remain positive. It often points to a lack of sufficient consistent data for Talos to confidently elevate the IP to a 'good' or 'trusted' status, which is common for new or fluctuating transactional sending volumes.
By understanding the nuances of how Talos evaluates IP reputation and by implementing proactive measures such as robust authentication, consistent monitoring, and maintaining pristine email hygiene, you can mitigate potential risks. Remember, sometimes a 'neutral' status is just a temporary phase, as was seen in my experience, and consistent good sending practices will eventually lead to a return to a 'good' reputation.
