Sender reputation: importance for email deliverability

The sender's reputation plays a fundamental role in the success of your email deliverability. It's the evaluation of trust that email service providers place on your identity as a sender. To establish this reputation, email services use sophisticated algorithms that analyze various signals, both positive and negative. The sender's reputation determines whether your emails will be delivered to the recipient's inbox, marked as spam, or simply blocked.

Criteria influencing your sender reputation

Sender IP address reputation

• Your sending IP address, which is assigned to your email sending server, plays a crucial role in evaluating your reputation. The main indicators taken into account include:
• Presence on blacklists: Some organizations manage blacklists listing IP addresses associated with spam or suspicious activities. If your IP address is listed on one of these lists, it will have a negative impact on your reputation.

Delivery history

Email services examine your delivery history to assess the quality of your past sends, such as bounce rates, complaints, and recipient behaviors.

Domain name reputation

In addition to the IP address, the reputation of your domain name, used in the sender's address, is also evaluated. Reputation indicators for the domain name include:

DNS record configuration

Email services check if your domain name is properly configured with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. These records help prove the authenticity of your emails and prevent identity spoofing.

Domain name history

Email services examine your domain name history to detect frequent changes in ownership or associated suspicious practices.

Email footprint reputation

The footprint of your emails refers to technical characteristics such as HTML code structure, links, and headers. Criteria influencing your email fingerprint reputation include:

Recipient engagement

Email services evaluate the open, click, and interaction rates with your emails to determine their relevance and engagement with recipients.

Complaint rates

Complaints flagging your emails as spam or unwanted will have a negative impact on your sender reputation. A high complaint rate indicates a lack of interest or consent from recipients.

Anti-spam filters

Email services analyze your emails' characteristics to detect signs of spam, such as suspicious keywords or misleading links.

Compliance with authentication standards

Your sender's compliance with authentication standards such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is also essential. These authentication protocols help prove the authenticity of your emails and avoid identity spoofing. The absence or misconfiguration of these records can harm your reputation.

List hygiene

The quality of your subscriber list plays a critical role in maintaining a good sender reputation. Here are some key points to consider:

Quality subscriber list

Ensure that your list only contains people who have explicitly consented to receive your emails. Avoid purchasing or renting lists, as this can harm your reputation. Prioritize safe practices such as collecting contacts via a form on your website and implementing a double opt-in system.

Incorrect and inactive addresses

Invalid or inactive email addresses result in hard bounces, which can have a negative impact on your reputation.

Presence of spam traps in your contact lists

Spam traps, also known as honeypots, are email addresses specifically used to detect senders who don't follow best practices. Sending emails to these addresses leads to a decline in your sender reputation.

Behavioral indicators

Behavioral indicators measure recipients' interaction with your emails. These interactions can have a positive or negative impact on your sender reputation and email deliverability. Here are the main indicators:

Open rate

Measures the number of recipients who have opened your email. A high open rate indicates that your recipients find your content relevant.

Click-through rate

Measures the number of recipients who have clicked on a link in your email. A high click-through rate indicates strong engagement.

Rating/Tagging

Some email service providers allow users to rate or tag your emails. Positive ratings or tags can positively influence your reputation.

Forwarding

When a recipient forwards your email to others, it can increase your reputation and reach.

Reply rate

Measures the number of recipients who respond to your email. Positive interaction indicates high engagement and interactive relationship with your recipients.

Unsubscribe rate

This is the number of recipients who unsubscribe from your subscriber list. An easy and transparent unsubscribe process is important to maintain a good reputation.

Deletion rate

This is the number of recipients who delete your email without opening it. A high deletion rate may indicate that your emails are not perceived as relevant.

Conclusion

Sender reputation is a key factor in ensuring that your emails reach your recipients' inbox. By following best practices and maintaining good list hygiene, you can improve your sender reputation and ensure successful email deliverability of your campaigns."