Email service providers (ESPs) use complex algorithms and filters to determine which emails to deliver to the inbox and which ones to send to the spam folder. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how ESPs determine the fate of your emails and what you can do to improve your email deliverability.
- Spam Filters
Spam filters are the first line of defense for ESPs against unwanted and potentially harmful emails. These filters analyze the content and structure of your emails to determine if they’re likely to be spam. Some of the key factors that spam filters consider include:
- Spam Trigger Words: Certain words and phrases, such as “free”, “act now”, or “limited time offer” are commonly associated with spam and can trigger spam filters.
- Email Sender Reputation: ESPs use sender scores, which we discussed in our previous blog post, to assess the sender’s reputation and likelihood of being a spammer.
- HTML Code: The HTML code of your email can also impact your deliverability. Ensure that your email code is clean and free from errors.
- User Engagement
User engagement is another critical factor that ESPs use to determine email deliverability. If your subscribers regularly engage with your emails by opening, clicking, and replying, this signals to ESPs that your emails are relevant and valuable to the recipient. On the other hand, if your subscribers consistently ignore or delete your emails, this can negatively impact your sender reputation and email deliverability.
- Email Authentication
Email authentication is the process of verifying that the email sender is who they claim to be. ESPs use authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate emails. This helps to prevent spammers from using fake email addresses to send spam emails.
- List Hygiene
List hygiene refers to the process of keeping your email list clean and up-to-date. ESPs will penalize you if you send emails to invalid or inactive email addresses. This can lead to a high bounce rate, which can negatively impact your sender reputation and email deliverability.
- Complaints
If your subscribers report your emails as spam, this can negatively impact your sender reputation and email deliverability. ESPs track the number of complaints against your emails, and if this number exceeds a certain threshold, your emails may be sent directly to the spam folder.
In conclusion, ESPs use a variety of factors, such as spam filters, user engagement, email authentication, list hygiene, and complaints to determine which emails to deliver to the inbox and which ones to send to the spam folder. By following best practices for email marketing, such as avoiding spam trigger words, sending relevant and valuable content, authenticating your emails, keeping your email list clean, and minimizing complaints, you can increase the likelihood that your emails will reach their intended recipients’ inboxes.
