Why are Gmail open rates lower when emails land in tabs other than the inbox?
Matthew Whittaker
Co-founder & CTO, Suped
Published 4 Jul 2025
Updated 16 Aug 2025
8 min read
It can be disheartening to see your carefully crafted emails land in Gmail tabs other than the primary inbox, especially when you notice a dip in open rates. Many marketers immediately wonder if their emails are being marked as spam or if their sender reputation is suffering.
Gmail's tabbed inbox, introduced years ago, aims to help users organize their incoming mail into categories like Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, and Forums. While beneficial for user experience, this categorization can certainly impact how and when subscribers interact with your emails. The perception is often that if an email isn't in the primary tab, it's less likely to be seen or opened.
However, the reality is more nuanced. While open rates might indeed be lower for emails in tabs like Promotions or Updates compared to the Primary tab, it doesn't automatically mean your emails are going to spam. It's about understanding user behavior within these tabs and how Gmail and other mailbox providers measure engagement.
Understanding open rate variations across Gmail tabs
When your emails land in Gmail's Promotions or Updates tabs, the most immediate impact you might observe is a lower reported open rate. This isn't always because fewer people are seeing your emails, but rather due to a combination of user behavior and how mailbox providers (including Gmail) process emails for display. Users typically check their Primary tab much more frequently and actively than other tabs, leading to a natural decrease in engagement metrics for emails filtered elsewhere.
A significant factor contributing to this perceived drop in open rates, particularly for the Primary tab, is image prefetching. Mailbox providers like Gmail and Yahoo (and others that incorporate spam filtering) may prefetch images embedded in emails that land in the primary inbox. This prefetching triggers the tracking pixel, which registers an "open" even before the user manually opens the email, artificially inflating the open rate for primary tab placements. In contrast, emails in tabs like Promotions or Updates are less likely to be prefetched in the same way, leading to a more accurate, but often lower, reflection of actual user engagement.
This distinction is crucial. A lower open rate for an email in the Promotions tab does not mean it's being treated as spam. If an email truly landed in the spam folder, its open rate would be negligible, often near zero, as spam folder emails are rarely interacted with. Landing in a tab like Promotions or Updates means the email successfully reached the subscriber's inbox environment, albeit in a segregated section. This is a far better outcome than outright rejection or delivery to the spam folder.
It's important to differentiate between low open rates due to tab placement and genuinely poor deliverability, for example, landing in spam or being blocked. An email in the Promotions tab still has a chance to be seen and engaged with, whereas an email in the spam folder typically does not. The critical goal is always to avoid the spam folder or any blocklist (or blacklist). For more on this distinction, consider our guide on why your emails are going to spam.
Open rates: tabs vs. spam
For the Promotions or Updates tab: Emails successfully delivered. Lower reported open rates often reflect reduced immediate engagement or lack of prefetching.
For the Spam folder: Emails are blocked or severely filtered. Open rates are typically near zero. This indicates a severe deliverability issue.
Why emails land in different tabs
Gmail's algorithm sorts incoming emails based on various signals to determine which tab they belong in. This includes factors related to content, sender behavior, and recipient engagement. Understanding these signals can help you optimize your campaigns for better primary inbox placement, although it's important to remember that Gmail's algorithm is dynamic and constantly evolving.
Content heavily influences tab placement. Emails with numerous images, marketing language, promotional links, or strong calls to action are more likely to be classified as promotional. Transactional emails, personal correspondence, or updates with minimal marketing elements tend to land in the Primary tab. The structure and HTML of your email also play a role; overly designed emails often signal a marketing intent. For more on this, read what is the impact of Gmail's Primary versus Promotional tabs on email deliverability.
Sender reputation is another critical component. Gmail and other mailbox providers like Outlook or Yahoo assess your sending domain's and IP address's reputation based on historical engagement, spam complaints, and adherence to email best practices. A strong sender reputation signals to Gmail that your emails are valued by recipients, increasing the likelihood of primary inbox delivery. Conversely, a poor reputation can lead to filtering into promotions, updates, or even the spam folder.
Ultimately, recipient behavior holds significant sway. If a user consistently opens, replies to, or moves your emails from the Promotions tab to their Primary tab, Gmail's algorithm learns this preference and may adjust future placements for that specific user. Encouraging users to "drag and drop" your emails to the Primary tab can be an effective, albeit slow, way to influence individual placement over time. This relates to why your information emails are landing in the promotions tab.
Primary tab characteristics
Content type: Usually personal, transactional, or informational emails.
Design: Typically less HTML-heavy, fewer images, direct communication.
User interaction: High engagement, often immediate opens and replies.
Open rate impact: Potentially inflated due to image prefetching by providers.
Promotions/updates tab characteristics
Content type: Marketing campaigns, newsletters, offers, social notifications.
Design: Often visually rich, includes promotional links, strong calls to action.
User interaction: Checked less frequently, opens may be delayed.
Open rate impact: More accurate open rates as prefetching may be limited, leading to lower reported figures.
Strategies for optimizing Gmail tab placement
While achieving consistent Primary tab placement can be challenging, there are actionable strategies to improve your chances and maximize engagement, regardless of which tab your email lands in. The core principle revolves around demonstrating value and encouraging positive engagement signals to Gmail.
Segment your audience effectively: Sending highly relevant content to targeted segments increases the likelihood of engagement. If recipients consistently find your emails valuable, they are more likely to open them, reply, or even manually move them to the Primary tab. Consider separate campaigns for transactional versus promotional content.
Prioritize content relevance and quality: Focus on delivering content that your subscribers genuinely want and expect. High-quality content leads to better engagement metrics, which are strong signals to Gmail's algorithm. Avoid overly aggressive sales language if your aim is informational.
Encourage user interaction: Actively ask your subscribers to add you to their contacts, reply to your emails, or drag your emails from other tabs to their Primary inbox. This direct user action sends a powerful signal to Gmail about the perceived value of your emails. For more information, see our article on how the Gmail promotions tab affects email open rates.
Remember that Gmail's system is designed to serve its users best. By focusing on providing value and respecting subscriber preferences, you can improve your email program's overall health and deliverability. This often means embracing the idea that the Promotions tab isn't necessarily a "bad" place to land, as long as your emails are being opened and engaged with there.
Views from the trenches
Best practices
Monitor where your emails are landing, distinguishing between primary, promotional, or spam folders.
Focus on consistent high-quality content that encourages genuine engagement from your subscribers.
Educate your subscribers on how to manually move your emails to their primary inbox.
Common pitfalls
Panicking about lower open rates in promotions without checking actual inbox placement.
Assuming emails in tabs are treated the same as emails that land in the spam folder.
Over-relying solely on reported open rates without considering other engagement metrics like clicks or conversions.
Expert tips
Consider that Gmail may not prefetch images in the promotions tab, which could lead to more accurate, yet lower, open rates compared to the primary inbox.
Understand that while open rates may differ by tab, the revenue or goal per email might not be significantly impacted.
Recognize that user behavior in different tabs directly influences perceived engagement and future placement for your sending domain.
Marketer view
A marketer from Email Geeks says they saw high open rates for A/B tests but very low rates for the main send on Gmail, suspecting spam despite previously high IP and domain reputation.
2022-01-04 - Email Geeks
Expert view
An expert from Email Geeks says they have observed a 10-30% drop in open rates when emails land in tabs other than the primary inbox.
2022-01-04 - Email Geeks
Navigating Gmail's tabs for better deliverability
The lower open rates observed when emails land in Gmail tabs other than the primary inbox are a common concern for email marketers. It's crucial to distinguish between an email landing in the Promotions or Updates tab and one being sent to the spam folder or being blocked by a blocklist (also called a blacklist). While tab placement can affect immediate visibility and reported open rates, it does not signify a severe deliverability issue or a damaged sender reputation in the way landing in spam does.
The key to navigating Gmail's tabbed inbox is to focus on holistic email deliverability and subscriber engagement. Ensure your email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is correctly configured, maintain a healthy sending reputation through consistent, valuable content, and encourage positive interactions from your subscribers. Understanding these dynamics will help you interpret your open rate data more accurately and build a more effective email strategy.
Outlook or 
Yahoo assess your sending domain's and IP address's reputation based on historical engagement, spam complaints, and adherence to email best practices. A strong sender reputation signals to Gmail that your emails are valued by recipients, increasing the likelihood of primary inbox delivery. Conversely, a poor reputation can lead to filtering into promotions, updates, or even the spam folder.
