Fixing Low Domain Reputation Issues

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Fixing Low Domain Reputation Issues
  • What's Happening?
  • Quick Diagnosis: Identifying Reputation Issues
  • Understanding Domain Reputation
  • Step-by-Step Reputation Recovery
  • Alternative Reputation Monitoring Methods
  • Best Practices for Long-term Reputation Health
  • Recovery Timeline and Expectations
  • Warning Signs to Monitor
  • Still Having Issues?

What's Happening?

Your domain has developed a poor reputation with email providers and security services, causing your emails to be blocked, deferred, or sent to spam folders. Domain reputation is like a credit score for your email sending - it's built over time based on your sending practices, recipient engagement, and complaint rates.

When your domain reputation is low, major email providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo will automatically reject or quarantine your messages to protect their users from potential spam or malicious content.

Quick Diagnosis: Identifying Reputation Issues

Look for these bounce messages that indicate domain reputation problems:

Gmail Reputation Blocks

• "The sending domain has a very low reputation, causing Gmail to block the message as potentially suspicious or spam"
• "The sending domain has a poor reputation, causing Gmail to block or defer messages as potential spam"
• "The sending domain has a very low reputation, causing Gmail to block the message as suspicious or spam-like"

General Reputation Issues

• "The sending domain has a poor reputation, causing the recipient's mail system to reject the message"

Blacklist-Related Issues

• "The sending domain is blacklisted by Spamhaus, causing email rejection"
• "The sending domain is listed on industry blocklists, causing emails to be rejected for potential spam or abuse"
• "The sending domain is blacklisted by reputation services like Spamhaus or Abusix"

Understanding Domain Reputation

What Affects Domain Reputation?

Domain Age: New domains (less than 3 months old) are viewed with suspicion by ISPs and need proper warming up.

Authentication Status: Missing or misconfigured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records severely damage reputation.

Engagement Metrics: Low open rates, high bounce rates, and spam complaints directly impact your reputation score.

Sending Patterns: Sudden volume spikes, irregular sending schedules, and poor list hygiene harm reputation.

Content Quality: Spam-like content, misleading subject lines, and poor formatting trigger reputation penalties.

How Domain Reputation Works

Step-by-Step Reputation Recovery

Step 1: Check Your Domain Authentication Status

1. Log into your account
2. Navigate to Settings → Email Services → Dedicated Domain and IP
3. Click Verify Domain for your domain
4. Verify all six are properly configured
5. If any show as failed, follow the DNS setup instructions provided
6. Wait 2 minutes for DNS propagation

Step 2: Use External Tools to Monitor Your Reputation

Essential Reputation Checkers:

• Google Postmaster Tools - Set up at postmaster.google.com
  • Shows domain reputation, spam rate, and delivery errors for Gmail
  • Provides IP reputation and authentication data
  • Essential since Gmail represents 60%+ of most email lists
• Sender Score- Free reputation score (0-100)
  • Visit senderscore.org
  • Enter your domain to get reputation score
  • Scores below 70 indicate reputation issues

Blacklist Checker:

• MXToolbox Blacklist Check - Comprehensive blacklist monitoring

Step 3: Analyze Your Current Performance

1. Go to Marketing → Email → Statistics
2. Review recent campaign performance:
   • Delivery Rate: Should be >95% (if lower, reputation issues likely)
   • Open Rate: Should be >20% (if lower, may indicate spam folder placement)
   • Bounce Rate: Should be <2% (if higher, list quality issues)
   • Unsubscribe Rate: Should be <2% (if higher, content/targeting issues)
3. Key indicator: If delivery rates are dropping but bounce rates aren't increasing, emails are likely going to spam folders due to reputation issues
4. Go to Settings  → Email Service → Bounce Classification
5. Look for patterns in bounce classification - reputation issues will show specific error messages

Step 4: Perform Inbox Placement Testing

Since direct reputation scores are harder to get, test actual inbox placement:

1. Manual Seed Testing:
   • Create test accounts on Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and Apple Mail
   • Send test campaigns to these accounts
   • Check inbox vs. spam folder placement
   • Document placement rates across providers
2. Third-party Testing Tools:
   • Mail-Tester.com - Free spam score testing
   • GlockApps - Inbox placement testing
   • EmailOnAcid - Deliverability testing
   • 250ok (now Validity) - Professional deliverability monitoring

Step 5: Check and Remove Blacklist Listings

1. Use the blacklist checkers mentioned above to identify any listings
2. For each blacklist where you're listed, visit their removal page
3. Submit delisting requests with:
   • Your domain name
   • Explanation of issue resolution
   • Steps taken to prevent recurrence
4. Monitor removal status daily (can take 24 hours to 7 days)

Step 6: Clean Your Email Lists Aggressively

Remove problematic contacts:

1. Go to Contacts
2. Create filters to identify and remove:
   • Hard bounces- Filter by Valid Email is Invalid
   • Unengaged contacts- No opens/clicks in 90+ days
     • Last Email Opened Date - More than - 90 days ago
     • Last Email Clicked Date - More than - 90 days ago
   • Role-based emails - info@, admin@, noreply@ addresses
3. Suppress or delete these contacts from future campaigns
4. Focus on engaged, opted-in subscribers only

Step 7: Implement Domain Warm-up Strategy

Start with minimal sending volumes:

1. Control your sending volume
2. Follow this gradual increase schedule:
3. Send to your most engaged subscribers first
4. Monitor external reputation tools and inbox placement daily
5. Only increase volume if engagement remains high (>20% open rate)

Step 8: Optimize Email Content and Practices

Review and improve recent campaigns:

1. Go to Marketing → Email → Statistics
2. Identify campaigns with poor performance and improve:
   • Remove spam trigger words ("Free," "Guaranteed," "Act Now," "Limited Time")
   • Ensure clear sender identification
   • Include physical address and easy unsubscribe
   • Use personalization and relevant content
   • Maintain consistent sender name and "From" address
   • Include both HTML and plain text versions

Alternative Reputation Monitoring Methods

Performance-Based Reputation Assessment

Since direct reputation scores are limited, monitor these key indicators:

Weekly Metrics to Track:

• Delivery Rate Trends: Consistent >95% indicates good reputation
• Open Rate Stability: Sudden drops may indicate spam folder placement
• Engagement Patterns: High engagement suggests good inbox placement
• Bounce Message Analysis: Look for reputation-related error messages

Inbox Placement Indicators:

• Consistent open rates: Good sign of inbox placement
• Click-through rates: High CTR indicates emails are being seen
• Reply rates: Replies are strong positive signals
• Forward rates: Forwards indicate high engagement

Regular Monitoring Schedule

Best Practices for Long-term Reputation Health

List Management Excellence

• Use double opt-in for all new subscribers
• Regular list cleaning - Remove inactive subscribers monthly
• Segment lists by engagement - Send to engaged users more frequently
• Never purchase email lists - Only use organically grown lists
• Implement re-engagement campaigns before removing inactive subscribers

Content and Sending Best Practices

• Maintain consistent sending schedule - Avoid sudden volume spikes
• Use clear, relevant subject lines - Avoid misleading or clickbait subjects
• Provide immediate value - Make every email worth opening
• Include clear sender identification - Use recognizable "From" names

Technical Maintenance

• Keep authentication records updated - Monitor SPF, DKIM, DMARC monthly
• Use consistent "From" domains - Don't switch domains frequently
• Monitor for subdomain reputation bleed - Bad subdomains can affect main domain

Recovery Timeline and Expectations

Immediate Actions (Days 1-7)

• Set up available monitoring tools (Sender Score)
• Remove from active blacklists
• Fix authentication issues
• Clean email lists aggressively
• Reduce sending volume to minimum
• Start inbox placement testing

Short-term Recovery (Weeks 2-8)

• Monitor available reputation tools daily
• Perform weekly inbox placement tests
• Gradual sending volume increase
• Watch for delivery rate improvements (should reach >95%)
• Build positive engagement metrics

Long-term Reputation Building (Months 2-6)

• Achieve consistent high engagement rates
• Maintain low complaint and bounce rates
• Establish stable sending patterns
• Full reputation recovery and inbox placement
• Return to normal sending volumes

Warning Signs to Monitor

In Platform Analytics

• Delivery rates below 95% - Indicates reputation issues
• Open rates dropping significantly - May indicate spam folder placement
• Increasing bounce rates - List quality deteriorating
• Rising unsubscribe rates - Content or targeting issues

In External Tools

• Sender Score: Score dropping below 70
• Talos Intelligence: Status changing from "Good" to "Neutral" or "Poor"
• Blacklist Checkers: New blacklist appearances
• Google Postmaster: Spam rates increasing above 0.1%
• Inbox Placement Tests: Decreasing inbox placement rates

Still Having Issues?

If reputation problems persist after following these steps:

1. Wait 30-90 days for reputation improvements to take full effect
2. Continue monitoring available tools - Focus on performance metrics and inbox placement
3. Document all remediation efforts for potential ISP appeals
4. Consider using a subdomain for a fresh start while main domain recovers

Remember: With Google Postmaster Tools no longer showing direct reputation scores, Our users must rely more heavily on performance metrics. Focus on consistent engagement metrics and delivery performance as your primary indicators of reputation health.

Domain reputation recovery takes 30-90 days of consistent good practices, but monitoring has become more challenging. The key is to use multiple data sources and focus on actual inbox placement rather than just reputation scores.