Summary
Following a recent Gmail outage, some domains began reporting a small percentage of temp fail - suspect spam messages in Gmail Postmaster Tools. While typically at 0% for high-reputation domains, this sudden uptick, even at 0.1%, has raised questions among senders. The temporary nature of these failures suggests a transient issue rather than a full blocklist or widespread deliverability problem, but monitoring remains crucial.
Key findings
- Observed uptick: After a Gmail outage (around the 27th), some domains experienced a sudden, albeit small (0.1%), increase in temp fail - suspect spam errors in Gmail Postmaster Tools.
- High reputation domains: These temporary failures affected domains with previously consistent 0% failure rates and strong reputations.
- Temporary nature: The errors are classified as temp fail, meaning they are not resulting in permanent bounces or immediate hard blocks.
- Potential causes: While directly linked to the outage by some, these issues could also stem from temporary greylisting, rate limiting, or even a reporting anomaly within Postmaster Tools itself.
Key considerations
- Monitor other metrics: It's important to cross-reference Gmail Postmaster Tools data with other deliverability metrics like inbox placement rates and bounce rates (especially hard bounces) to assess the true impact. Learn more about Google Postmaster Tools with our ultimate guide.
- Impact assessment: A 0.1% temp fail rate is generally very low and may not warrant immediate concern unless accompanied by other negative trends, or if emails are not eventually delivered.
- New Gmail/Yahoo requirements: Google's new bulk sender guidelines, which went into effect in early 2024, sometimes initially result in temporary errors for non-compliant senders. For more information, you can refer to MarTech's article on the new rules.
- Authentication standards: Ensure your email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are correctly configured and aligned to minimize any potential 'suspect spam' flags, even during system anomalies.
What email marketers say
Email marketers have shared various experiences regarding the sudden appearance of temp fail - suspect spam entries in Gmail Postmaster Tools after a reported outage. While some observed the issue across multiple domains, others saw no change, indicating the problem wasn't universal. The general sentiment leaned towards cautious monitoring rather than immediate alarm, given the temporary nature of the failures.
Key opinions
- Shared observation: Several marketers noticed the temp fail - suspect spam uptick starting around the same day (the 27th), affecting domains that previously had perfect Postmaster Tool scores.
- Inconsistent impact: Not all domains or clients experienced these temporary failures, suggesting the issue might be isolated or related to specific traffic patterns.
- Low concern for temporary issues: As the errors were temp fail and not permanent bounces, many marketers were not immediately concerned, opting for continued observation.
- Reporting anomalies suspected: Some attributed the issue to potential reporting failures within Postmaster Tools rather than a genuine deliverability problem, given the sudden and synchronized appearance across multiple products/domains.
Key considerations
- Monitor for escalation: While current temp fails may not be critical, marketers should watch for any increase in volume or a shift to hard bounces, which would indicate a more serious underlying issue. Reviewing rejection reasons can be helpful.
- Historical data review: Marketers should compare current metrics to historical trends in Postmaster Tools to identify significant deviations. If you're experiencing data intermittency, consider possible Postmaster Tools reporting issues.
- Authentication check: Ensure all email authentication, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, is correctly set up and aligned. Outdated or incorrect connection details for your email provider could lead to lower deliverability percentages, as detailed in this WP Mail SMTP guide.
- Sender reputation awareness: Even small upticks in suspect spam can be an early indicator of a shift in sender reputation. Continue to send quality, engaged emails.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks indicates they have noticed domains in Gmail Postmaster Tools showing temporary failures related to suspect spam. This issue began on the 27th, affecting domains that previously had 0% failure rates. The observation comes after a recent Gmail outage.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Howtoforge states that a Gmail return message indicating server spam often points to emails still queued for delivery. This suggests that even with temporary errors, the system might be attempting to send the emails eventually.
What the experts say
Experts generally view small upticks in temporary failures in Gmail Postmaster Tools with a degree of caution, but not immediate alarm, especially if other key deliverability metrics remain stable. They emphasize the importance of understanding the full failure message and considering the overall context of email performance. While outages can cause temporary disruptions, persistent issues often point to underlying configuration or sending practice concerns.
Key opinions
- Small uptick is not alarming: A small percentage of temp fail messages is usually not a cause for concern unless other significant problems are observed.
- Context is key: It is crucial to understand the full failure message and consider it alongside other deliverability metrics to determine if there's a genuine issue.
- Not universally observed: Some experts noted that these temporary failures were not occurring on all domains they monitored, suggesting a localized or specific trigger rather than a system-wide problem at Gmail.
- Monitoring Postmaster Tools: Even for minor issues, continuous monitoring of Postmaster Tools is advised to catch any deteriorating trends early. See our guide on improving domain reputation with Google Postmaster Tools.
Key considerations
- Distinguish temporary from permanent: Understanding the difference between temporary (soft) and permanent (hard) bounces is crucial. Gmail outages can cause false positives or temporary delivery delays.
- Authentication health: Ensure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are correctly implemented and aligned. DMARC verification failures can lead to temporary rejections, especially if a policy like p=reject is in place.
- Greylisting: Temporary failures can sometimes be attributed to greylisting, a spam prevention technique used by some ISPs, including Gmail, that causes initial delays. Learn more about greylisting as a spam prevention technique.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that a very small uptick in temporary failures is not a concern unless there are other, more significant signs of deliverability problems. This indicates that minor fluctuations might be normal or transient.
Expert view
Expert from Spamresource emphasizes the importance of consistent sender behavior. Sudden changes in sending volume or content, even if minor, can trigger temporary reputation flags with mail providers.
What the documentation says
Official documentation for email deliverability and Postmaster Tools indicates various reasons for temporary failures, including rate limits, suspected spam flags, and authentication issues. Google's systems are designed to provide temporary errors as a first step for non-compliant traffic, allowing senders to adjust before permanent blocks occur. These tools also provide dashboards to visualize such temporary failures against authenticated traffic.
Key findings
- Delivery errors dashboard: Gmail Postmaster Tools provides a delivery errors dashboard that displays rejected or temporarily failed traffic compared to all authenticated traffic from a domain.
- Causes of temp fail: Common reasons for temporary failures include rate limits (sending too much traffic at high rates) and emails being flagged as suspected spam.
- Greylisting: Greylisting is a spam prevention technique, particularly used by ISPs like Gmail, that can lead to temporary delays in email delivery, resulting in temporary failures.
- DMARC failures: Improperly configured DMARC policies can cause emails to be bounced or temporarily failed, especially if a policy like p=reject is set and DMARC authentication fails.
Key considerations
- Leverage Postmaster Tools: Gmail Postmaster Tools is a free service designed to help monitor and improve email delivery performance to Gmail users. Regularly checking this tool is essential for identifying issues. Explore how Google Postmaster Tools work.
- DMARC policy review: If DMARC fails, emails might be bounced. Senders should ensure their DMARC policy aligns with their sending practices to prevent such issues. A simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM can help.
- Adhere to new guidelines: New bulk email restrictions from Google and Yahoo mean that non-compliant senders will initially face temporary errors. This serves as a warning, providing an opportunity to resolve issues before more severe actions like permanent blocks are taken. Refer to Mailjet's guide on Postmaster Tools.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailjet confirms that the Delivery Errors dashboard in Postmaster Tools illustrates the ratio of rejected or temporarily failed traffic against all authenticated traffic from a given domain. This offers a clear visual representation of delivery issues.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailmodo lists reasons for temporary limits, stating that Gmail may impose these when an IP sends excessive traffic at high rates, or when emails are flagged as suspected spam. These measures aim to control unwanted email flow.
Related resources
13 resources
![How to fix Gmail deliverability issues [full guide] - Unspam](https://unspam.email/articles/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/3-Google-Postmaster.jpg)
Related pages
Why are emails to Gmail experiencing delivery delays and spam placement issues?
Why is Gmail Postmaster Tools data not updating?
Why is Google Postmaster data limited or intermittent?
Why are emails suddenly rejected by Gmail?
What caused the Gmail outage in December 2020 and were there false positive bounce errors?
Ultimate guide to Google Postmaster Tools V2
Why your emails fail: expert guide to improve email deliverability [2025]
Understanding email greylisting and how it works
A simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM
Why your emails are getting a 'DMARC verification failed' error
