Suped

Why do emails to .com domains send faster than other TLDs and what factors affect email sending speed?

Summary

The observation that emails sent to .com domains might deliver faster than those sent to other Top-Level Domains (TLDs) is a common point of discussion among email marketers and deliverability experts. While it might appear that .com domains have an inherent speed advantage, the reality is more nuanced. The perceived speed difference often stems from the concentration of recipients at major mailbox providers (like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook) that predominantly use .com domains, and these providers have highly optimized infrastructures designed for rapid mail acceptance. In contrast, other TLDs may include a higher proportion of smaller, less robust, or less frequently used email servers that process mail more slowly or have stricter throttling policies. Factors such as DNS lookup efficiency, session management, and the recipient domain's infrastructure play a much larger role in email sending speed than the TLD itself.

What email marketers say

Email marketers often focus on practical observations and the immediate impact on their campaigns. The perceived speed advantage of .com domains, or the slowdown when including a broader mix of TLDs, is a real-world experience for many. Their opinions highlight the importance of understanding recipient list composition, the behaviors of major Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and the practical challenges of managing email delivery to diverse domains.

Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks observed that sending emails to a list composed solely of .com domains resulted in significantly faster delivery rates compared to a list that included other TLDs. This suggests that non-.com domains might introduce strain, possibly due to deferrals.

30 Dec 2020 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Email marketer from Mautic Forums found that delivery issues, particularly emails landing in Gmail spam folders, improved significantly after they reduced their overall email sending speed.

10 Apr 2017 - Mautic Forums

What the experts say

Email deliverability experts offer a more technical and holistic view on email sending speed and TLDs. They typically point to underlying infrastructure, DNS resolution, and broader reputation signals as the primary drivers of delivery performance, rather than the TLD itself. Their insights emphasize the importance of session management, queue configuration, and robust system practices to ensure efficient email flow.

Expert view

Email expert from Email Geeks clarified that the perception of .com TLDs being inherently faster is likely a coincidence, attributing rapid acceptance to major providers like Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo, which often handle large volumes efficiently.

30 Dec 2020 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Email expert from SendLayer emphasized that domain reputation is a primary determinant of email deliverability, influencing inbox placement and overall sending success.

05 Jun 2024 - SendLayer

What the documentation says

Official documentation and research often provide the foundational principles for how email systems interact, shedding light on why certain factors affect sending speed and deliverability. This perspective emphasizes the technical specifications of TLDs, the role of domain reputation in a broader context, and how specific TLDs may be perceived or treated differently by mail systems due to historical usage patterns or threat intelligence.

Technical article

Documentation from Medium explained that domain extensions (TLDs) do indeed influence how email service providers (ESPs) evaluate the legitimacy and trustworthiness of incoming emails, affecting deliverability.

05 Jun 2024 - Medium

Technical article

Documentation from Audience Point confirmed that a domain's credibility, historical sending patterns, and age are significant determinants of its email deliverability, with problematic histories leading to worse outcomes.

05 Jun 2024 - Audience Point

14 resources

Start improving your email deliverability today

Get started