Why Is My Email Going To Spam? How To Stop Your Emails From Being Flagged As Spam
Spam is unavoidable, which can be a problem. Most of us receive a ton of spam emails every day, which our mail software tries to filter out so that our inboxes are primarily filled with important communications.
However, since no spam filter is flawless, it’s common for vital emails to be marked as spam. In fact, if you send your own email to friends, family, or coworkers, it may land in the spam folder. Why do your emails end up in spam folders? There are numerous probable causes for this as well as strategies to stop it.
What causes email services to mark my emails as spam?
Naturally, if your email appears to be spam mail, it is more likely to be marked as such by email services. The following are some examples of what email services will classify as spam:
Your topic line and/or email body contains spam triggers.
Overuse of punctuation or uppercase letters in your subject line, such as “OFFERS!!!” or “DISCOUNTS!!!,” is a sure way to get your email in the spam folder. Also, using pushy language or expressions like “action required,” “buy now,” “urgent,” or “don’t delete” are likely to be detected if they appear in the subject line or body of your email, particularly if they are used in addition to the previously mentioned punctuation or capitalization. Also, buzzwords or language that emphasize words in the email body text in extreme terms, such as “100% off,” like “free,” “no cost”, “easy money”, “amazing,” or “incredible offer,” and similar expressions, are more likely to be flagged by spam filters.
How to fix it
- Use proper language and spelling, refrain from using spam terms, and don’t overuse emoticons or punctuation like excessive exclamation signs and several dollar signs.
You have attached files
Images can also trigger spam filters in a couple of different ways. Image names, file sizes, or the site they are hosted on could set off a spam filter. The more attachments, the greater the likelihood that it’ll get flagged as spam. Spam filters are particularly cautious of attachments from senders who are not in the recipient’s address book since malicious emails frequently include them and it is simple to utilize them to spread malware.
How to fix it
- Avoid sending unnecessary attachments unless they’re absolutely necessary.
- Offer links to cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive if the image is hosted.
Your ‘From’ information is incorrect
Inaccurate sender information can also cause spam issues, that is, If the “From” or “Reply-To” information in the message is wrong, then your email can be flagged as spam. Spammers often intentionally put misleading information in the From field to trick the recipient. That’s probably not your intent, but it can happen, for instance, if you use automated forms on your website that can generate email replies. Make sure these tools use your website’s admin email address and never simply use the recipient’s “To” email as the “From” address.
How to fix it
- Make sure to add the sender’s information. For marketing emails, make sure to include your physical address and accurate sender information.
You haven’t set up email authentication
You should make sure that your emails are authenticated if you send a lot of emails for a small business or publish an email newsletter. Typically, you can implement this with the help of your domain provider, though some domain hosting firms will provide instructions online so you can complete it yourself. Google advises publishing both a DMARC record and an SPF record for your domain. With the use of either of these protocols, spammers are prevented from impersonating your domain and delivering messages to you. DKIM signature, which enables your recipients to confirm that your domain actually sent the message, should also be enabled.
How to fix it
- You can set up the authentication methods by adding TXT records in your domain’s DNS management. You can get the records that you need from your email hosting service. Try searching the help documentation for “SPF” or “DKIM” or ask the support team for help if you can’t find it.
Make sure your domain isn’t marked as unsafe
Your email is far more likely to be marked as spam if your domain has been identified as unsafe.
Thankfully, there’s an easy way to regularly check your domain. Open the Google Safe Browsing Site Status website and search for your domain. You’ll get an immediate report that advises whether any “unsafe” content has been found.
If your domain has been flagged as unsafe, you should fix it before submitting a review request using Google’s Webmasters Tools.
Also, it should come as no surprise that using the wrong kinds of links might be a problem when it comes to spam, as the major goal of most spam emails is to compel you to click on some sort of link.
Your domain may be legitimate, but you may be linked to a website or domain that, for whatever reason, seems spammy. If the display URL and the destination URL are different, you can also run into difficulty. If, for instance, the display URL is https://google.com but the link is https://anotherwebsite.com, it might get you in trouble because spammers frequently use this method to lure people to click links. Likewise, employing URL shorteners can cause problems for the same reason.
How to fix it
- Only link to reputable sites and make sure to link the right display URL to its actual link. Avoid actions that could be construed as “tricking” people into clicking links that they didn’t intend to visit.
Recipients have marked your email as spam
Understandably, it’s possible that one of your emails will end up in spam since the recipient marked it as such.
If this is a mass mailing, like an email newsletter, it becomes more problematic. If a sizable portion of your recipients flagged your email as spam, this may cause spam filters to kick your email straight to spam for additional recipients.
How to fix it
- If this is a one-on-one correspondence, you can get in touch with the receiver in another way and ask the recipients to whitelist your emails
- In the case of marketing, make sure your subscribers explicitly opt-in. Periodically clean your list of dead/unengaged accounts and more importantly, give subscribers a clear option to unsubscribe.
Testing your emails
Spam filters are constantly changing how they flag emails as spam. You can test your emails by putting them through tools that will give you an idea of whether or not they would be flagged as spam in order to prevent making too many educated guesses.
Numerous free spam filter tools are available online. They function by letting you send an email to their temporary address, then notify you of the score it received in accordance with some of the criteria used by spam filters to assess authenticity. By using these services, you can optimize your email and keep it out of the spam bin.
