Effective February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo are cracking down on sender practices. For Gmail and Yahoo this impacts anyone using a bulk sender like Switchboard. Their policy updates outline the following requirements:
Keep spam complaints below 0.1% (per day) and do not exceed 0.3%
Spam complaints should ideally be 0.1% or lower. Both Google and Yahoo are enforcing a spam rate threshold of 0.3%. Any email domain that is getting spam complaints of 0.3% or higher will see decreased deliverability. Improving domain reputation will take time (months, not weeks).
Ensure all email domains have a DMARC record
To verify that email senders are who they say they are, email domains will be required to have a DMARC record. The good news is that we help you out with this during onboarding! Switchboard ensures that by the time you can send out an email on our platform, your DNS records are good to go!
One-click unsubscribe
If you send email using Switchboard’s email product, we ensure your emails are compliant with Google and Yahoo’s one-click unsubscribe policies, which make it easier for email recipients to unsubscribe from unwanted email programs.
In general, these changes are important but nothing you can’t handle. If you are running an email program, making sure your spam complaint rate is below 0.3% is critical! Switchboard handles the other items for you. You can email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
Email deliverability refers to the ability of an email message to successfully reach the intended recipients' inboxes without being flagged as spam or bouncing. It is a critical metric that assesses the effectiveness of your emails in terms of reaching and engaging your audience.
There are two fundamental elements of your deliverability to keep track of: domain reputation and IP reputation.
IP Reputation: IP reputation refers to the perceived trustworthiness and reliability of the IP address from which an organization sends its emails. Email Service Providers (ESPs) and other filtering systems assess the reputation of the sending IP address to determine the fate of the emails originating from that address. Your domain may be sending email from a Dedicated IP or a Shared IP Pool. Reach out to us if you have any questions about how your organization is set up.
IP reputation for an email program is dependent on the IP your domain is sending from. At Switchboard we have a meritocratic approach to IP pools assignment and are happy to discuss this with you transparently. If your program starts on an IP pool with a medium reputation, for example, good behavior can get you moved to an IP with a better reputation.
Domain Reputation: Domain reputation refers to the perceived trustworthiness and reliability of a specific domain by email service providers (ESPs) and other filtering systems. Often referred to as your “Sender Reputation,” Domain Reputation plays a crucial role in determining whether emails sent from that domain will be delivered to recipients' inboxes, marked as spam, or blocked entirely. Domain reputation is connected to your domain no matter your IP reputation or email platform. It is important to watch your domain reputation trends over time because reputation rehabilitation can take months.
Domain Reputation and IP Reputation are impacted by a few key metrics. Track these metrics over time to ensure deliverability stays consistent across all Email Service Providers (i.e. ESPs). Switchboard will provide you with a detailed email performance dashboard so you can track the following key metrics:
The spam rate is the percentage of emails from a specific email campaign or sender that are flagged as spam by email service providers or recipient email systems. The lower the spam rate, the better your deliverability.
What should you know?