Summary
Recent widespread hard bounce issues with Gmail accounts stemmed primarily from an acknowledged outage on Google's side, rather than typical sender reputation problems. This event led to a significant increase in 'no such user' errors, affecting both standard Gmail and G Suite domains. For email senders, distinguishing these outage-related bounces from legitimate deliverability concerns is crucial to avoid mistakenly removing valid subscribers and to preserve long-term sender reputation.
Key findings
- Outage-driven bounces: A significant surge in hard bounces, specifically 'no such user' errors, was observed across Gmail and G Suite domains due to a Google system outage.
- Sporadic impact: The issues were not uniform, with some senders experiencing intermittent spikes while others saw prolonged problems or varied impact across data centers.
- Error identification: Many of the erroneous bounce messages contained the specific indicator gsmtp, making them filterable and distinguishable from other bounce types.
- Official acknowledgement: Google officially acknowledged the service disruption on their Workspace Status Dashboard, confirming a system-wide issue.
Key considerations
- Bounce management: Do not treat outage-related hard bounces as typical undeliverable addresses. These emails should ideally not be suppressed or removed from your lists.
- Suppression list purging: After the outage resolves, it is vital to purge these erroneous bounces from both your internal database and any ESP suppression lists to ensure future delivery.
- Monitoring: Continuously monitor official status pages (like Google's) and your own bounce logs to understand the nature and duration of such incidents. This can also help you diagnose sudden spikes in bounce rates.
- Sender reputation: While temporary, such events can impact perceived sender reputation if not handled correctly. Proper filtering and post-outage cleanup are essential to prevent long-term negative effects on deliverability to Gmail.
What email marketers say
During periods of Gmail bounce issues, email marketers reported a varied but significant impact on their sending operations. Many observed sudden and uncharacteristic spikes in hard bounces, often for addresses that were historically active and valid. While some saw the problem resolve quickly, others experienced prolonged or intermittent issues, leading to concerns about list hygiene and overall deliverability during the disruption.
Key opinions
- Widespread but varied impact: Marketers reported problems with Gmail, but the impact was not uniform globally, with some seeing issues persist while others quickly returned to normal.
- High bounce rates: Some marketers saw hard bounce rates as high as 60%, with numbers remaining three times higher than their baseline even after the initial peak.
- Timeout increases: Beyond hard bounces, many also observed a significant increase in temporary bounces resulting from connection timeouts.
- Geographic differences: There was speculation that the location of ESPs or data centers might influence whether bounce issues persisted.
- Misinterpretation of bounces: Initial thoughts incorrectly suggested Gmail might be conducting mailbox cleanup due to inactive inboxes, prompting marketers to consider deleting addresses prematurely.
Key considerations
- Database and ESP cleanup: After the incident, actively clearing affected Gmail bounces from both internal databases and ESP suppression lists is crucial to restore affected addresses.
- Filtering for outages: Utilize bounce reports to identify outage-related messages (e.g., those containing gsmtp) to differentiate them from genuine hard bounces.
- Avoid hasty suppression: Refrain from immediately suppressing or deleting email addresses that bounced during a known outage, as this could lead to the loss of valid subscribers. Proper bounce management is essential.
- Monitor official channels: Stay informed by checking official service status dashboards, which provide the most accurate information on outages.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks observed that while some ESPs reported issues, the problem was not global, suggesting a varied impact across different providers.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks noted that several senders were still experiencing persistent high rates of hard bounces, indicating an ongoing problem for some.
What the experts say
Email deliverability experts provided critical insights during the Gmail bounce incident, confirming the widespread nature of the issue and advising senders on appropriate responses. They underscored the importance of distinguishing between system-wide outages and typical sender reputation challenges, emphasizing that not all bounces should lead to immediate subscriber suppression. Their guidance focused on proper data interpretation and maintaining long-term deliverability strategy despite temporary disruptions.
Key opinions
- Outage confirmation: Experts confirmed that other deliverability professionals were also reporting significant problems with Gmail, validating the widespread nature of the issue.
- Intermittent nature: Observations indicated that the Gmail issues were intermittent, with deliverability coming and going for different senders.
- Bounce filtering: It was highlighted that Google's rejections are typically easy to filter due to the presence of gsmtp in the rejection text, applicable to both Gmail and G Suite domains.
- Avoid overreaction: A key takeaway was that a short period of disrupted bounce handling would not critically harm an email program, advising against drastic changes to sending practices. This helps protect sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Do not suppress valid addresses: Experts stressed that addresses bouncing due to an outage are likely valid and should not be added to suppression lists or removed from your database. Doing so could negatively impact your domain reputation over time.
- Accurate bounce classification: Implement or adjust systems to accurately classify temporary bounces, especially during known ISP outages, to prevent miscategorization.
- Monitor status pages: Regularly check Google's official status page to confirm and track outages. This is the most reliable source of information during such events.
- Communication: Communicate clearly with internal teams or clients about the cause of bounce spikes to manage expectations and ensure a consistent response strategy.
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks confirmed that other participants were also reporting significant problems with Gmail delivery, suggesting a broader impact beyond individual senders.
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks observed that the Gmail issues appeared to be intermittent, affecting some users while others returned to normal operation, pointing to a sporadic problem.
What the documentation says
Official documentation from Google and major ESPs provides crucial context for understanding and responding to Gmail bounce issues. These resources often clarify that service disruptions are distinct from sender-side reputation problems. They outline the importance of official status monitoring, proper handling of bounce codes, and the need for careful list management to navigate temporary delivery challenges without compromising long-term email program health.
Key findings
- Official status updates: Google's official Workspace Status Dashboard is the primary source for acknowledging and updating users on service disruptions, including Gmail.
- Specific error codes: Outages can result in specific SMTP error codes, such as 550 GSMTP or 5.1.1, indicating issues on the recipient's side rather than a true 'no such user' scenario.
- Impact on G Suite: Issues affecting Gmail often extend to G Suite (now Google Workspace) domains, which utilize the same underlying infrastructure.
- ESP response: Major email service providers (ESPs) typically have protocols for managing bounces during such incidents, often including purging erroneous bounces from their suppression lists.
Key considerations
- Prioritize official information: Always consult Google's official status pages first when observing widespread deliverability issues to Gmail.
- Adjust bounce processing: During confirmed outages, avoid automatically adding bounced addresses to permanent suppression lists. Instead, temporarily classify these as soft bounces or hold them for re-attempt after the outage.
- Post-outage reconciliation: Reconcile your bounce logs with the outage timeline and remove any mistakenly suppressed addresses. This proactive step helps maintain a clean and engaged email list, preventing long-term damage to Gmail deliverability.
- Review authentication: Ensure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly configured, as strong email authentication is a foundational element for inbox placement, regardless of temporary outages.
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Status Dashboard outlines that reported service disruptions, like those affecting Gmail, are actively monitored and updated by Google's incident response teams, providing real-time information to users.
Technical article
Documentation from SendGrid states their policy to purge all Gmail/G Suite addresses that bounced during specific incidents, reassuring users that affected addresses will be handled appropriately to prevent lasting damage.
Related resources
15 resources
Related pages
Why are emails to Gmail experiencing delivery delays and spam placement issues?
How to resolve a low Gmail domain reputation?
What causes a sudden spike in email bounce rates, especially from Gmail?
How to manage hard bounced email addresses for future sends?
How to recover Gmail email deliverability and sender reputation after emails go to spam?
A practical guide to understanding your email domain reputation
Ultimate Guide to Google Postmaster Tools V2
Why Your Emails Are Going to Spam in 2024 and How to Fix It
How to fix common DMARC issues in Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
A simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM
