Summary
High spam rates in Google Postmaster, even with consent-based practices, stem from a confluence of technical, content-related, and sending-practice issues. Technical factors include improper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), a poor IP reputation, incorrect reverse DNS records, and blacklisting. Content issues involve spam trigger words and poor HTML. Sending practices like poor list quality (unengaged users, harvesting), lack of segmentation, high frequency, difficult unsubscribes, unmonitored FBLs, volume fluctuations during re-permissioning, and lack of brand recognition contribute significantly. Maintaining a low spam rate (below 0.03%) is critical. The consensus emphasizes the need for comprehensive deliverability management, focusing on both technical setup, content optimization, and audience engagement.
Key findings
- Spam Rate Urgency: High spam rates are a critical issue ('5 alarm fire') requiring immediate action.
- Technical Deficiencies: Improper authentication, poor IP reputation, and incorrect DNS records are common technical issues.
- Content and Formatting: Spam trigger words and poor HTML increase spam scores.
- List Quality Degradation: Poor list quality, including inactive users and harvested addresses, leads to spam complaints.
- Engagement and Relevance: Lack of segmentation and high sending frequency decrease engagement and increase spam reports.
- Subscriber Control: Difficult unsubscribe processes frustrate subscribers, leading to spam complaints.
- Brand Recognition: Lack of brand recognition during re-permissioning can trigger spam filters.
- Feedback Loop Neglect: Ignoring feedback loops hinders deliverability improvements.
Key considerations
- Authentication Implementation: Implement and regularly monitor SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- List Hygiene Practices: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers and prevent harvesting.
- Content Optimization Strategies: Avoid spam trigger words and ensure well-formatted HTML in emails.
- Segmentation Implementation: Segment email lists to provide relevant content to each subscriber.
- Frequency Governance: Manage sending frequency to avoid overwhelming subscribers.
- Unsubscribe Simplicity: Provide a simple and easily accessible unsubscribe process.
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitor IP and domain reputation and promptly address issues.
- FBL Implementation: Monitor and respond to feedback loops to address user complaints.
- Reverse DNS Setup: Ensure a correct reverse DNS record (PTR) for sending IP addresses.
- Blocklist Monitoring: Monitor and promptly respond to being listed on blocklists.
- DMARC Report Analysis: Regularly analyze DMARC reports to identify and address authentication failures and spoofing.
- Re-permissioning Strategy: During re-permissioning campaigns, maintain brand recognition and manage volume carefully.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
High spam rates in Google Postmaster, despite consent-based practices, can stem from various factors. These include technical issues such as improper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), a poor IP reputation, and deliverability issues caused by being on blocklists. Content-related problems like spam trigger words and poor HTML formatting also contribute. Furthermore, sending practices such as not segmenting lists, sending emails too frequently, and having a difficult unsubscribe process can lead to increased spam complaints. Finally, brand recognition issues during re-permissioning campaigns and lagging indicators from volume fluctuations can impact spam rates.
Key opinions
- Technical Setup: Improper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and poor IP reputation are major technical contributors to high spam rates.
- Content Issues: Spam trigger words and poor HTML formatting in email content can increase spam scores.
- List Management: Poor list quality, including old or unengaged email addresses, and lack of segmentation result in higher spam complaints.
- Sending Practices: Sending too frequently, a difficult unsubscribe process, and unmonitored complaint rates negatively affect deliverability.
- Re-permissioning: Brand recognition and volume fluctuations during re-permissioning campaigns can spike spam rates.
Key considerations
- Authentication: Ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is set up and regularly monitored.
- List Hygiene: Implement a regular list cleaning process to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers.
- Segmentation: Segment email lists to ensure content is relevant to each subscriber group.
- Content Optimization: Avoid spam trigger words and use well-formatted HTML in email content.
- Sending Frequency: Monitor sending frequency and adjust based on subscriber engagement.
- Unsubscribe Process: Make the unsubscribe process easy and straightforward for subscribers.
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitor IP and domain reputation and address any issues promptly.
- Complaint Rates: Implement feedback loops and monitor complaint rates closely to address any negative trends.
- Re-Permissioning: When re-permissioning, be mindful of brand recognition and gradually increase email volume.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks suspects that volume fluctuation is what could be contributing to the high spam rate. Re-permissioning should be spread out as evenly as possible, at a low percentage of normal daily volume.
7 Jun 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus shares that sending the same message to everyone, even consent-based subscribers, will increase spam rate if not relevant to all of the audience. Segmentation is key.
20 Jan 2025 - Litmus
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
High spam rates in Google Postmaster, even with consent-based emailing, can indicate a serious deliverability issue. Factors contributing to this may include inadequate list hygiene practices, specifically the failure to remove inactive subscribers, and vulnerabilities to email address harvesting, both of which undermine the value of consent. The assessment emphasizes the need to scrutinize acquisition practices and proactively maintain list quality.
Key opinions
- Severity of Issue: A high spam rate is a critical problem ('5 alarm fire') requiring immediate attention.
- List Hygiene: Inactive subscribers can significantly damage sender reputation, even with opt-in practices.
- Acquisition Practices: Email address harvesting can invalidate consent and inflate spam rates.
- Re-Permissioning: Re-permissioning in itself should not cause high spam rates, suggesting other underlying problems.
Key considerations
- Immediate Action: Prioritize addressing the high spam rate to avoid severe deliverability consequences.
- List Cleaning: Implement a robust process for identifying and removing inactive subscribers from email lists.
- Acquisition Review: Examine email acquisition practices to prevent email address harvesting and ensure legitimate consent.
- Investigation: Investigate other factors outside of re-permissioning that could be causing high spam rates.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks says that the spam rate performance is a "5 alarm fire".
26 Mar 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that even with opt-in practices, maintaining clean lists by regularly removing inactive subscribers can greatly improve your sender reputation and reduce spam complaints.
11 Feb 2025 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
High spam rates in Google Postmaster, even with consent-based practices, can be attributed to several technical factors outlined in various documentation sources. Maintaining a spam rate below 0.10% is essential, with a recommended target of under 0.03%. Failure to actively monitor and respond to feedback loops (FBLs) can result in high spam rates. Missing or incorrect reverse DNS (PTR) records can cause emails to be flagged as spam. Being listed on blocklists like Spamhaus or Spamcop significantly affects delivery rates. Finally, not monitoring DMARC reports can lead to undetected authentication failures and spoofing, increasing spam rates.
Key findings
- Spam Rate Thresholds: Maintaining a spam rate below 0.10% is crucial, with a target of under 0.03% recommended by Google.
- Feedback Loops (FBLs): Ignoring FBLs and user complaints can lead to higher spam rates.
- Reverse DNS (PTR): A missing or incorrect PTR record can negatively impact email deliverability.
- Blocklist Monitoring: Being on blocklists significantly affects delivery and increases spam rates.
- DMARC Reporting: Failure to monitor DMARC reports can result in undetected authentication failures and spoofing.
Key considerations
- Spam Rate Goals: Consistently monitor and strive to keep spam rates below the recommended thresholds.
- FBL Implementation: Actively monitor and respond to feedback loops to address user complaints and improve deliverability.
- PTR Record Configuration: Ensure a correct reverse DNS (PTR) record is configured for your sending IP addresses.
- Blocklist Monitoring Tools: Implement monitoring tools to check for blocklist listings and take prompt action to resolve any issues.
- DMARC Analysis: Regularly analyze DMARC reports to identify and address authentication failures and potential spoofing activity.
Technical article
Documentation from IETF explains that monitoring DMARC reports will allow insight into authentication failures and potential spoofing activity associated with your domain. Addressing these issues can significantly reduce spam rates.
9 Apr 2025 - IETF
Technical article
Documentation from RFC explains that a missing or incorrect reverse DNS (PTR) record can cause your emails to be flagged as spam. This record maps an IP address to a domain name, which is a key factor in verifying your server's identity.
10 Jun 2024 - RFC-Editor
Are email list cleaning services useful for improving email deliverability, and how do they work?
How can I fix consistent spam landing in Gmail with 0% user-reported spam when using Mailchimp?
How can I improve email deliverability when emails are going to spam?
How can I improve my email and domain reputation and overall deliverability?
How do spam complaints and user interaction affect domain reputation?
What are spam trigger words and how do they impact email deliverability?
