Imagine you’ve just written a great email, a real gem that’s perfectly tailored to your reader. The copy is sharp, the offer’s compelling, and the timing’s spot on. There’s just one problem…
No one sees it. It’s like it never existed.
If your emails are landing in the spam folder (or getting blocked altogether), your domain reputation could be undermining all of your hard work.
Domain reputation is how email providers like Gmail and Outlook decide whether to trust you, based on how you set up your domain, how you send emails, and how people interact with them.
For small businesses and freelancers, domain reputation often flies under the radar, but it plays a major role in whether your email marketing actually lands. Get it right, and your emails reach the inbox. Get it wrong, and even your most loyal subscribers might never see what you send.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through exactly what domain reputation is, what affects it, and how to keep it high so every email gets where it’s meant to go.
How domain reputation works
Email providers don’t just let every message through. They’re the bouncers protecting your contacts’ inbox, carefully evaluating each sender’s domain reputation before letting their messages through.
Essentially, they’re asking, “Can we trust this sender?”
Your reputation is based on a combination of signals that help determine whether your emails are legitimate and safe for users to receive. Here are the key factors that influence your domain’s standing:
- Authentication. Email authentication is like the ID card that proves you’re allowed to send messages from your domain. Without it, your emails may be flagged as suspicious.
- Bounce rate. If you send to invalid or outdated email addresses, your bounce rate increases. Too many hard bounces (permanently undeliverable addresses) tell providers that you’re not paying enough attention to who you’re emailing.
- Spam complaints. Every time someone hits “Report spam”, it negatively affects your domain. If that happens too often – even if your complaint rate is just a fraction of a percent – your reputation takes a hit.
- Engagement signals. Email providers look at how people interact with your emails. Do they open them? Do they click on links? Do they reply? Low engagement indicates your emails may be unwanted or irrelevant.
- Sending patterns. Sudden spikes in volume, especially from a brand-new or previously quiet domain, can raise suspicion. In contrast, gradually increasing send volumes over time builds trust with providers.
Email providers are constantly monitoring these signals, and they all add up. Every campaign has the potential to earn trust and build your reputation. On the other hand, if your campaign sends off too many of the wrong signals, it can also damage your reputation with potentially disastrous consequences.
The real cost of a poor domain reputation
A damaged domain reputation is more serious than many people realize. When you can’t communicate effectively with your prospects and customers, your business suffers. You can’t nurture your leads, you can’t support your customers, and you can’t build relationships.
Here’s what happens when your domain loses the trust of email providers:
- Your emails skip the inbox. The biggest and most obvious impact is that your emails don’t get delivered. This can happen without warning, and if you’re not keeping an eye on your analytics, your emails could keep getting filtered straight into spam (or blocked completely).
- Engagement tanks. If fewer people see your emails, fewer people engage with them. That low engagement signals to providers that your emails aren’t wanted, which drags your reputation down even further.
- Your brand suffers. Your domain reputation is an extension of your brand’s reputation. If your emails consistently miss the inbox or are marked as spam, it can erode customer confidence and weaken the perception of your brand.
- You risk being blocklisted. If you send to low-quality contacts or trigger too many complaints, your domain can end up on blacklists like Spamhaus or Barracuda. Getting removed is possible, but it’s time-consuming, and until you do, your deliverability keeps falling.
- You need to recover. Rebuilding a damaged reputation isn’t easy. You’ll need to hit pause on any non-essential emails, clean up your contact list, and start slowly re-engaging your audience while keeping a close eye on your metrics.
No doubt about it, a damaged domain reputation can wipe out your email marketing campaign performance and, left unchecked, cause irreparable harm to your business. Fortunately, with a few simple steps, you can create and maintain a strong domain reputation.
How to build a strong domain reputation
Before you can protect your domain reputation, you need to earn it. If you’re starting from scratch or switching platforms, these are the foundational steps that signal to mailbox providers that you’re a trusted sender.
1. Authenticate your domain
Authentication proves you're the real sender, not a spammer spoofing your domain.
Start by setting up these essential records:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework). Confirms which servers are allowed to send emails on your behalf. In your domain’s DNS panel, check your SPF settings or add a TXT record containing your SPF policy (depending on your provider). If you’re using Transpond, you can add our servers to the record using [v=spf1 include:spf.ourmailsender.com include:_spf.google.com include:spf.stackmail.com -all]
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail). Adds a digital signature to verify the message was not tampered with. Typically, that’ll mean adding a CNAME record with the host [mp1._domainkey] and the value [dkim.ourmailsender.com]
This is easy in Transpond. Just log in to your account and go to ‘My Domains’. Tap ‘Authenticate’ and then you’ll see the entries you need to add to your Domain DNS. Once you’ve added the records, you can then click ‘Authenticate’ again, and Transpond will verify that the records have been added correctly.
You can also add DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) authentication. This tells providers how to handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, and gives you reports on any suspicious activity. Add a TXT record with the host/name [_dmarc] and the value/content [v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc-reports@yourdomain.com]. V refers to the DMARC version, p is your policy, and rua is the email address where aggregate reports will be sent.
For more details, check out our guide on email domain configuration and how to set up Transpond DNS records for the most popular services.
2. Warm up your domain
Just like when you hit the gym for the first time since your New Year’s resolution, warming up is vital. New domains are treated with caution. Sending too much too soon can trigger filters and hurt your chances of ever hitting the inbox.
At Transpond, we gradually warm up our IP addresses on your behalf, but it’s also a good idea to warm up your specific domain. Start small, emailing your most engaged subscribers, then slowly increase volume week by week. For example:
- Week 1, 50-100 emails per day to your most engaged subscribers
- Week 2, 200-500 emails per day
- Week 3, 1,000-2,000 emails per day
- Week 4+, gradually increase to your target volume
In Transpond, use Segments to target engaged subscribers, and schedule campaigns over several days to build a steady send pattern.
3. Use double opt-in
Adding an extra step to signing up for emails might sound like a bad idea. However, when potential email recipients have to opt in twice, it helps keep your email lists nice and clean. Double opt-in confirms that someone actually wants your emails, reducing spam complaints, bounces, and spam trap hits.
Transpond’s signup forms support double opt-ins, automatically sending a confirmation email after someone signs up. They’re only added to your list once they’ve clicked to confirm.
4. Keep your list clean
Double opt-in helps ensure new additions to your email list are genuine, but over time, even legitimate lists go stale. People may change the email address they use, or they simply are no longer interested in your messages. Continuing to email old, disengaged, or invalid addresses drags down your sender score.
If you see any hard bounces from your list, immediately remove them. If a contact isn’t engaging, you may want to try a tailored re-engagement campaign, letting them know that they’ll be removed from the list if they don’t click to confirm they’re still interested. Here’s a great example of a re-engagement email from marketer Brian Kurtz, with a nice incentive to get people interested all over again.
In Transpond, you can use engagement filters to segment inactive subscribers and build automations to remove or re-engage them.
How to maintain your domain reputation
Once you’ve earned a good reputation, your job is to keep it. These habits will help you stay in good standing with mailbox providers and make sure your emails keep reaching the people who want them.
1. Track engagement and adjust accordingly
Mailbox providers are watching how people respond to your emails. If engagement drops, your reputation can follow.
The easiest way to monitor engagement is by keeping a close eye on your key metrics:
- Open rates by segment and campaign type
- Click-through rates
- Spam complaint rates (keep below 0.1%)
- Unsubscribe rates
- Bounce rates (keep total bounces below 5%)
Use these metrics to understand how contacts view your emails. For example, if your open rate is falling, you can test new subject lines, preview text, or sender names. If click-through rates are low, you could try different content and CTAs.
In Transpond, check the Analytics reports to better understand your audience and send emails that they look forward to receiving.
You should also regularly check tools like Google Postmaster, Microsoft SNDS, and MXToolbox to see how different email providers view your domain reputation and whether you’re on any blacklists.
2. Never buy email lists
I don’t like to use absolutes, like “Always” or “Never”. In this case though, I just can’t stress enough that you really shouldn’t be buying your email lists. Purchased lists are typically full of outdated contacts and spam traps.
Now, I’ll acknowledge there are some reputable vendors who do their best to provide high-quality lists. However, even in the best-case scenario, these are people who never agreed to hear from you. Sending to them leads to complaints, high bounce rates, and (you guessed it) a damaged reputation.
Instead, use well-placed signup forms and lead magnets to build your own list. You can then promote signup through your website and social media. Yes, it takes a little longer, but growing your list organically means you’ll be able to build relationships with people who genuinely want to hear from you. On the other hand, buying lists is a shortcut to the spam folder. Don’t risk it.
3. Avoid spammy content
Ultimately, one of the best ways to avoid the spam folder is to not send spam. Even if your list and setup are solid, dodgy content can trigger spam filters. Things like all-caps subject lines, misleading offers, and shady links are red flags to the filters and your recipients.
Use clear, honest subject lines and avoid excessively promotional language (“FREE!”, “Act Now!”, “Limited Time!”). Limit links and skip attachments. You should also avoid link shorteners – even if it makes your email look tidier, they’re also commonly used by spammers to conceal malicious websites or phishing attempts.
In Transpond, just before you hit "Send", try "Spam Test", which will see how that email fares in deliverability, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC with a variety of the most popular email providers.
Learn more about integrated spam testing.
If you care about your emails, you need to care about your reputation
Joan Jett might not have given a damn about her bad reputation, but email marketers can’t afford to be so blasé. A poor domain reputation costs you reach, revenue, and relationships.
Your domain reputation is a measure of trust. When mailbox providers see that you’re sending relevant, wanted, and authenticated emails, they reward you with inbox placement. When that trust slips, everything else follows.
Try Transpond for free and start building a stronger domain reputation today.