I've recently fixed the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for our domain because they were not properly set up before I joined the team. I tested them using DMARCtester and mail-tester.com, and everything passed. However, we are still facing issues with our emails landing in the spam folder. Considering that the company used to send hundreds of thousands of emails monthly, and had a bounce rate of 20%, I'm wondering if this past behavior is affecting our current reputation. Is there something I might still be overlooking?
5 Answers
It might take time for your domain's reputation to recover. Lower sender scores can last, and there are soft lists that you may have to wait out. Consider using a separate domain for future marketing to minimize any further risk of tarnishing your primary domain.
Even with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configured, your emails can still be flagged as spam if they contain poor content. Links in your emails, even in signatures, can cause classification issues. Keep your content clean and relevant to avoid this!
Sometimes the issue can be as simple as an overly complicated email signature. I had a client who ended up in spam due to their signature being cluttered with images and links. It triggered spam filters quite frequently. Also, have you checked your status on Spamhaus? Their service might not be covered in mail-tester.com, so it's worth a shot. And don't forget about MXToolbox for blacklist checks!
I did the blacklist check and it came back clear. Just need to check Spamhaus now!
I went through this recently too, and a tiny HTML detail in their signature was enough to flag them! Always good to review those!
It's wise to separate your email types—transactional messages like receipts should go out from their own domain/subdomain. This helps keep marketing emails from damaging the main domain’s reputation when people mark them as spam. Also, make sure you're including a simple unsubscribe option in bulk emails, especially as Google and Yahoo are stricter about this now.
Should we really consider using separate domains for each type? That sounds like a huge shift!
Given that you've been sending such a high volume of emails, your domain likely took a hit in terms of reputation. Even if you're following all the best practices, a poor reputation can linger for a while. Keep an eye on your logs to see exactly why emails are bouncing. The problem might be in your content as well, or the links you've included. MS and Google have elaborate guidelines that can help you understand better.
Thanks for the tip to check out MS and Google! I'll dive into that.
I've been testing our emails, and even after fixing everything, they still show up as spam. I don't know what more we can do!