Summary
The general feeling about email verification companies is mixed, ranging from cautious optimism to outright skepticism. Some marketers find them useful for data collection at signup, correcting typos, and gauging the health of unknown lists, especially for real-time validation. Others warn about the poor quality of some services, questionable practices (like false claims of spam trap removal), and the potential for harm when validating poorly collected data. Experts recommend focusing on proper list hygiene and opt-in practices rather than relying solely on verification. The cost-benefit analysis depends on list size and quality; smaller, well-maintained lists may not justify the cost. Technical documentation emphasizes the importance of adhering to email address syntax standards and leveraging API services for validation. There is a consensus that vendor selection must be done carefully, and verification should be part of a broader email hygiene strategy.
Key findings
- Mixed Opinions: Marketers' opinions on email verification companies range from cautiously optimistic to skeptical.
- Specific Use Cases: Email verification is considered useful for data collection, typo correction, and assessing the health of unknown lists, especially through real-time validation.
- Quality Issues: There are significant concerns about the quality and ethical practices of some email verification services, including false claims of spam trap removal and reselling data.
- Alternative Practices: Experts recommend prioritizing proper list hygiene and opt-in practices over relying solely on email verification.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis: The cost-effectiveness of email verification depends on the size and quality of the email list, with smaller, well-maintained lists potentially not justifying the cost.
- Technical Standards: Adhering to email address syntax standards and leveraging API services is crucial for effective email validation.
Key considerations
- Vendor Selection: Choose reputable email verification vendors carefully, focusing on transparent practices.
- Comprehensive Strategy: Implement email verification as part of a broader email hygiene strategy, including proper list hygiene and opt-in practices.
- Data Quality: Address the root causes of poor data quality rather than solely relying on verification services to fix issues.
- Real-Time Application: Employ real-time validation at signup to prevent bad data from entering the system.
- Compliance: Ensure compliance with email address syntax standards and data privacy regulations.
- Opt-In Processes: Use good opt-in processes when collecting emails rather than focusing on fixing them later.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
The general feeling about email verification companies is mixed. Some marketers find them useful for data collection at signup, correcting typos, gauging the health of unknown data, and removing bad emails from dormant lists. However, there are concerns about the quality of some services, with reports of reselling, double-sided businesses, and questionable practices like spam trap removal claims. Many sources suggest carefully selecting reputable vendors and using verification in conjunction with other list hygiene practices like engagement metrics and lifecycle marketing.
Key opinions
- Use Cases: Email verification is seen as useful for data collection at signup, correcting typos in real-time, and assessing the quality of unknown or dormant lists.
- Quality Concerns: There are significant concerns about the quality and ethics of some email verification services, including reselling data and making false claims about spam trap removal.
- List Cleaning vs. Data Collection: Email verification is generally considered more appropriate for preventing bad data from entering a system (data collection) than for cleaning already purchased or harvested lists.
- Real-time validation: Real-time APIs are helpful for subscription forms to highlight mistyped domains.
- Cost-Benefit: The cost-benefit analysis of email verification depends on list size and quality. Larger, poorly maintained lists benefit more than smaller, well-maintained lists.
Key considerations
- Vendor Selection: Carefully vet email verification vendors, looking for reputable companies with transparent practices.
- Combined Approach: Use email verification as part of a broader email list hygiene strategy, including engagement metrics, lifecycle marketing, and sunsetting inactive contacts.
- Data Source: Address the source of your data and ensure good data quality and opt-in processes are used instead of relying on list cleaning services.
- Real-time Verification: Consider real-time verification to improve user experience by correcting typos immediately
- Regulations: Note COI isn't as common in the US as elsewhere.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that the cost-benefit analysis depends on list size and data quality. For large, poorly maintained lists, verification is worth the investment to improve deliverability. For smaller, well-maintained lists, the benefits might not justify the cost.
9 Jul 2024 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks finds real-time APIs helpful for subscription forms to highlight mistyped domains. For bad quality lists, they recommend deleting the list or using engagement metrics, lifecycle marketing, and sunsetting inactive contacts.
3 Dec 2021 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Experts generally express caution and skepticism towards email verification companies. A significant concern is that many are actually spammers or provide inaccurate data. While real-time verification at signup can be useful, bulk checking of purchased lists is discouraged. A key point is that these services often make false claims, especially regarding spam trap removal. Email verification can even be harmful when validating addresses collected using poor practices, and it doesn't solve underlying list hygiene issues. Therefore, a focus on proper list hygiene and opt-in practices is recommended over relying solely on list cleaning services.
Key opinions
- Vendor Concerns: Many email verification companies are suspected of being spammers or providing inaccurate data.
- False Claims: Email verification companies often make false claims, particularly regarding spam trap removal.
- Potential Harm: Using email verification services can be harmful if applied to poorly collected data.
- Alternative Solutions: Focusing on proper list hygiene and opt-in practices is recommended over relying solely on list cleaning services.
- Abortive SMTP connections: Some email verification services may use abortive SMTP connections, and it is important to be aware of those.
Key considerations
- Reputable Vendors: If using email verification, choose reputable vendors carefully.
- Data Quality: Address the underlying issues of data collection practices instead of relying solely on verification.
- Holistic Approach: Implement comprehensive list hygiene strategies, including opt-in processes.
- Real-Time vs. Bulk: Prioritize real-time verification at signup over bulk checking of purchased lists.
- Transparency: Look for transparent methods and vendors that don't make exaggerated claims.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks mentions that Kickbox doesn't use abortive SMTP connections, and there are a few other companies that do not use them either.
29 Jun 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that email verification services can cause damage, especially when validating addresses collected using poor practices. They state that address verification doesn't fix underlying problems and can make deliverability worse.
30 Aug 2021 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Email address validation, as documented across RFC specifications, AWS SES, Microsoft Exchange Server, and Mailgun, encompasses defining email address syntax, offering tools for address verification, and enabling policy-driven address management. RFC specifications provide the foundational rules for email address structure, while platforms like AWS SES and Mailgun offer APIs and services for verifying email addresses, ensuring compliance and improving deliverability. Microsoft Exchange Server enables organizations to manage email addresses consistently through address policies.
Key findings
- Standardization: RFC specifications (e.g., RFC 5322) provide the standard syntax and structure for email addresses.
- Service Integration: Cloud platforms (e.g., AWS SES, Mailgun) offer integrated services for validating email addresses, enhancing deliverability.
- Policy Management: Server environments (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server) support policy-based email address management, ensuring consistency.
- Different types of Checks: There are different types of checks that can be performed such as syntax validation, domain checks, and MX record lookups, to determine the deliverability of an email address.
Key considerations
- Compliance: Adhere to RFC specifications for email address formatting to ensure compatibility.
- API Utilization: Leverage APIs provided by cloud services to implement email validation for improved deliverability.
- Centralized Management: Implement policy-driven email address management for consistent and controlled email environments.
- Data Validation: Ensure data validation for compliancy.
Technical article
Documentation from AWS explains how to use Amazon Simple Email Service (SES) to validate email addresses. It details the steps for verifying email addresses to comply with sending limits and improve deliverability. Verifying helps ensure that you are only sending to valid recipients.
25 Nov 2023 - AWS Documentation
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Learn describes how to configure email address policies in Exchange Server. These policies automatically generate email addresses for recipients based on defined rules. This ensures consistency and helps manage email addresses across the organization.
11 Nov 2024 - Microsoft Learn
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