Summary
Despite a good sender reputation, welcome emails often land in Gmail spam due to a combination of factors related to list acquisition, email content, technical configuration, and recipient engagement. Poor signup processes, lack of proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), spammy content, low engagement rates, inconsistent sending patterns, questionable list hygiene, and un-warmed IP addresses contribute to deliverability issues. Addressing these areas is vital for improving inbox placement.
Key findings
- Signup Quality: Unprotected signup forms without CAPTCHA/honeypot attract low-quality subscribers who don't engage.
- Authentication Configuration: Missing or misconfigured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records cause emails to fail authentication checks.
- Content Triggers: Spammy subject lines, generic content, and poorly coded emails trigger spam filters.
- Engagement Deficit: Low open and click rates signal lack of recipient interest, leading to spam placement.
- Consistency Breakdown: Irregular sending frequency and volume raise suspicion and harm deliverability.
- List Hygiene Neglect: Outdated email lists and spam traps negatively impact sender reputation.
- Technical Debt: Issues with ESP configurations and new IP addresses can hinder deliverability.
- Sender Reputation: Google builds reputation on reciptiant engagement which will impact deliverability if its low
Key considerations
- Fortify Signup Forms: Implement CAPTCHA or honeypot fields to deter bots and invalid addresses.
- Validate Authentication: Verify proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup to ensure email authentication.
- Refine Content Strategy: Personalize welcome messages, avoid spam trigger words, and optimize HTML code.
- Boost Engagement: Encourage opens and clicks with compelling content and clear calls to action.
- Maintain Consistency: Establish a regular sending schedule and volume for welcome emails.
- Cleanse Email Lists: Remove invalid addresses, spam traps, and unengaged subscribers regularly.
- Tune ESP Settings: Optimize ESP configurations and gradually warm up new IP addresses.
- Monitor Metrics: Actively monitor metrics to improve engagement
What email marketers say
15 marketer opinions
Welcome emails may land in Gmail spam folders despite a good sender reputation due to several factors. These include issues with the signup process (lack of CAPTCHA, unengaged subscribers), technical problems (DNS, return path, ESP configurations), content triggers (spammy language, poor coding), and recipient engagement (low open/click rates, high complaint rates). Consistent sending practices, proper list hygiene, and careful monitoring of engagement and feedback loops are crucial to improving deliverability.
Key opinions
- Signup Process: Inadequate signup protection (no CAPTCHA/honeypot) and lack of initial engagement from subscribers can signal potential spam.
- Technical Issues: Problems with DNS records, return paths, or ESP configurations can hinder deliverability despite overall reputation.
- Content: Spammy language, broken links, or poor HTML coding in welcome emails can negatively impact sender reputation.
- Engagement: Low open rates, low click rates, and high complaint rates for welcome emails can trigger spam filters, even with a good sender reputation.
- Consistency: Inconsistent sending patterns and volumes can be interpreted as suspicious activity by Gmail.
- List Hygiene: Poor list hygiene (spam traps, outdated emails) can impact deliverability even with positive overall metrics.
- Fingerprinting: Gmail may be fingerprinting certain welcome messages due to content or other factors leading to spam classification.
- ESP Configuration: ESPs may use specific identifiers in headers for certain types of emails; If these are misconfigured they could lead to spam classification.
Key considerations
- Signup Optimization: Implement CAPTCHA or honeypot fields on signup forms and ensure subscribers genuinely want to receive emails.
- Technical Audit: Regularly check DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), return paths, and ESP configurations for any issues.
- Content Refinement: Use clear, concise, and personalized language in welcome emails. Avoid excessive links, images, and spam trigger words. Check the email renders correctly.
- Engagement Monitoring: Track open rates, click rates, and complaint rates for welcome emails. Segment and re-engage unengaged subscribers.
- Sending Strategy: Maintain consistent sending frequency and volume for welcome emails. Warm up new IPs or ESPs gradually.
- List Maintenance: Regularly clean email lists to remove invalid addresses, spam traps, and unengaged subscribers.
- Feedback Loops: Monitor and address any feedback loop complaints promptly to improve deliverability.
- Test Emails: Test sending a welcome message manually (as a newsletter) to new sign-ups.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests checking for messages from Gmail regarding DNS issues like DKIM or SPF problems. He also suggests comparing sending from the user's inbox and ESP to identify return path issues.
9 May 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks asks if the people receiving welcome emails asked to receive emails and if the signup form has any protection like a captcha or honeypot.
31 Oct 2024 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Welcome emails land in spam despite good sender reputation due to various reasons tied to recipient engagement, content, and list acquisition. Recipient reaction influences Google's reputation assessment. If content resembles spam or lacks personalization, it's problematic. Low engagement signals the email isn't valuable. Questionable list acquisition practices undermine deliverability.
Key opinions
- Recipient Reaction Matters: Google builds its sender reputation based on how recipients react to the emails, making engagement vital.
- Content Personalization is Key: Generic or spam-like content can negatively impact deliverability, even with a good sender reputation.
- Engagement Signals Value: Low engagement rates indicate the email isn't valuable, causing it to be marked as spam, regardless of reputation.
- List Acquisition Matters: Questionable list-building practices negatively affect deliverability, undermining a good sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Improve Engagement: Actively monitor and improve recipient engagement metrics like open and click rates.
- Personalize Content: Ensure welcome emails are personalized and avoid generic or spam-like phrasing.
- Cleanse Email Lists: Employ ethical list-building practices and avoid buying or scraping email addresses.
- Review SPF/Domain/IP Setup: If content changes aren't helping, a deeper technical issue might exist requiring a move of IPs.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that Google builds reputation based on recipient reaction to mail. Since content changes aren't working, it suggests a deeper issue like domain reputation. Moving IPs might change the tuple of SPF, domain, and IP causing the issue.
14 Jan 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that how you acquire email addresses significantly impacts deliverability. If you're using questionable list-building practices (e.g., purchasing lists, scraping addresses), even a seemingly good sender reputation can be undermined, leading to welcome emails being flagged as spam.
17 Sep 2022 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Welcome emails may be flagged as spam by Gmail despite a good sender reputation due to authentication failures, sudden volume changes, and DMARC policy issues. Proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial, and welcome emails are heavily scrutinized. Gradual volume increases and appropriate IP warm-up are necessary to build trust.
Key findings
- Authentication is Key: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for establishing sender legitimacy and avoiding spam filters.
- Volume Matters: Sudden changes in sending volume, especially for welcome emails, can trigger spam filters.
- DMARC Implementation: Incorrectly implemented DMARC policies can lead to deliverability issues and spam classification.
- IP Warm-up: Failure to properly warm up a new IP address can negatively impact deliverability.
- Segmentation: Sending large volumes of mail to unengaged subscribers triggers filters and negatively effects deliverability.
Key considerations
- Implement Authentication: Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are properly configured for your sending domain.
- Control Sending Volume: Avoid sudden increases in sending volume. Gradually increase volume over time.
- Review DMARC Policy: Carefully configure your DMARC policy and monitor its impact on deliverability.
- Warm-up IPs: Warm up new IP addresses by gradually increasing sending volume and engagement.
- Segment Your Sending: Send to new subscribers in segments to ensure good deliverability and sender reputation.
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost explains that not properly warming up a new IP address can hurt deliverability. Sudden high volume mailings from an IP address that has not built trust can send a red flag to ISPs causing deliverability to suffer.
30 Aug 2021 - SparkPost
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Support states it's best practice to segment new subscribers and gradually increase sending volume to them. Sending a welcome email to a large batch of new, unengaged subscribers can raise red flags and trigger spam filters.
4 Jul 2022 - Microsoft Support
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