Suped

Why are recruitment emails from Lever being marked as spam in Gmail, and how can I fix it?

Summary

Recruitment emails from Lever are being marked as spam in Gmail due to a combination of factors including shared IP and tracking domain reputation, sender authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content quality, and list hygiene. Leveraging shared resources can result in inheriting the poor reputation of other senders. Proper authentication, list management, content review, proactive reputation monitoring, and considering dedicated resources are essential to improve deliverability. Encouraging user engagement can further enhance inbox placement.

Key findings

  • Shared Resources Impact: Lever's use of shared IP addresses and tracking domains can negatively impact deliverability if other users are sending spam. Shared resources can inherit poor sending reputations from other users on that platform.
  • Authentication is Key: Properly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is crucial for authenticating emails and preventing spoofing.
  • Content Quality: Email content, including links, and the presence of spam trigger words can significantly affect deliverability. Content with links to poor reputation destinations can result in mail being tagged as spam.
  • List Hygiene is Essential: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is important for sender reputation. Engaged recipients are less likely to mark email as spam.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Monitoring IP and domain reputation is important to detect potential blocklisting or deliverability issues.

Key considerations

  • Dedicated IP and Tracking: Consider migrating to a dedicated IP address and tracking domain to isolate your sending reputation.
  • Content Review and Testing: Review email content for spam triggers and test deliverability with tools like GlockApps.
  • SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Implementation: Verify and correctly implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. DMARC policies that are set to reject mail that doesn't pass SPF or DKIM can severely impact deliverability if those records are not configured correctly.
  • Contact Lever Support: Contact Lever support to inquire about tracking domain reputation and options for dedicated infrastructure.
  • User Engagement: Encourage recipients to add the sender to their address book and mark emails as 'not spam'.
  • Warming Up IP Addresses: If using a new IP Address warm them up to improve sending reputation.
  • Double opt-in: Implementing a double opt-in process to make sure that recipients genuinely want to receive the emails.

What email marketers say

7 marketer opinions

Several factors contribute to recruitment emails from Lever being marked as spam in Gmail. Key issues include shared IP addresses and tracking domains, which can inherit poor reputations from other users. Maintaining clean email lists, personalizing emails, avoiding spam trigger words, and implementing double opt-in are crucial. Testing email placement and warming up new IP addresses can also improve deliverability. Contacting Lever support about tracking domain reputation and exploring dedicated IP addresses and tracking domains are recommended.

Key opinions

  • Shared IPs/Domains: Lever's use of shared IP addresses and tracking domains can negatively impact deliverability if other users send spam.
  • Reputation Matters: The reputation of both the sending IP and tracking domain significantly affects email deliverability.
  • List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is essential for a good sender reputation.
  • Personalization: Personalizing emails and avoiding spam trigger words can help bypass spam filters.
  • Testing is Key: Testing email placement in various inboxes can identify deliverability issues.

Key considerations

  • Dedicated IP/Domain: Consider using a dedicated IP address and tracking domain to isolate your sending reputation.
  • Lever Support: Contact Lever support to inquire about their tracking domain reputation and explore dedicated options.
  • Warming Up: If using a new IP address, warm it up gradually to build a positive sending reputation.
  • Double Opt-In: Implement a double opt-in process to ensure recipients genuinely want to receive your emails.
  • Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor your IP and domain reputation to identify and address any deliverability issues promptly.

Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that maintaining a clean email list, personalizing emails, and avoiding spam trigger words are crucial for avoiding spam filters. Mailjet also suggests using a dedicated IP address to improve sender reputation.

31 Mar 2023 - Mailjet

Marketer view

Email marketer from GlockApps suggests using a tool like GlockApps to test email placement in various inboxes (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.). These tools can identify whether your emails are landing in the inbox, spam folder, or being blocked.

15 Sep 2023 - GlockApps

What the experts say

5 expert opinions

Recruitment emails from Lever are being marked as spam in Gmail primarily due to issues with shared IP and tracking domains, content problems, and overall sender reputation. Shared resources used by Lever can be negatively impacted by other users sending spam, thus impacting your deliverability. Testing email content and monitoring blocklists are essential. Encouraging recipients to mark emails as 'not spam' and add the sender to their address book can also improve deliverability.

Key opinions

  • Shared Resources: Shared IP and tracking domains used by Lever can lead to deliverability issues due to the actions of other users.
  • Content Matters: Email content, including links, can trigger spam filters if it links to domains with poor reputations.
  • Sender Reputation: Poor IP reputation, often resulting from being on blocklists, is a significant cause of emails landing in spam.

Key considerations

  • Dedicated Domains: Consider using a dedicated tracking domain to isolate your sending reputation from other Lever users.
  • Content Review: Thoroughly review email content for spam triggers and test plain text versions to identify problematic links.
  • Blocklist Monitoring: Regularly check your IP against blocklists and take steps to remove your IP if listed.
  • User Engagement: Encourage recipients to mark your emails as 'not spam' and add your address to their contacts to improve deliverability.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests a potential content issue, specifically links to domains with reputation problems. Testing plain text emails is recommended to rule out link-related issues.

25 Apr 2023 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource shares that a common reason for emails going to spam is a poor IP reputation. This can stem from sending spam or being on a blocklist. They advise checking the sending IP address against various blocklists and taking steps to clean up your sending practices to improve your reputation.

30 Aug 2024 - Spam Resource

What the documentation says

4 technical articles

Recruitment emails from Lever are being marked as spam in Gmail due to a combination of factors including sender reputation, authentication issues, recipient complaints, and spam-like content. To improve deliverability, it's crucial to properly authenticate emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and to follow best practices for sending bulk emails, including segmentation and easy unsubscribe options. Monitoring sender reputation and reviewing email content are also essential.

Key findings

  • Authentication: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is critical for avoiding spam filters.
  • Sender Reputation: Sender reputation is a key factor in Gmail's spam filtering decisions.
  • Content Matters: Email content resembling spam can trigger spam filters.
  • Recipient Complaints: Spam complaints from recipients negatively impact deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Implement SPF: Ensure your SPF record accurately lists authorized mail servers for your domain.
  • Implement DKIM: Implement DKIM to digitally sign your emails, verifying their authenticity.
  • Implement DMARC: Implement a DMARC policy to instruct email receivers on how to handle emails failing SPF and DKIM checks.
  • Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
  • Review Content: Review your email content for spam trigger words and improve overall messaging quality.

Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that SPF records are crucial for email authentication. SPF records allow domain owners to specify which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of their domain, helping prevent spoofing and improving deliverability.

20 Jan 2024 - RFC 4408

Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft Support details that following best practices, such as properly authenticating emails (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), segmenting lists, and providing easy unsubscribe options, can improve deliverability and prevent emails from being marked as spam.

30 Jul 2023 - Microsoft Support

Start improving your email deliverability today

Sign up
    Why are recruitment emails from Lever being marked as spam in Gmail, and how can I fix it? - Troubleshooting - Email deliverability - Knowledge base - Suped