Email service providers use your domain reputation to decide whether your emails should land in the inbox or spam folder, which means domain reputation affects your cold email performance directly.
ESPs consider email deliverability practices to calculate your domain reputation. So, it’s important to check your domain reputation regularly and improve accordingly.
Let’s dive in.
What is Domain Reputation?
Domain reputation is the score given to your domain by email service providers (ESPs) and anti-spam services. The score is always between 1 to 100—with a simple rule of the more, the better.
How much domain reputation is a good reputation?
For successful cold email campaigns, it’s recommended to maintain a domain reputation of 85 or more.
If your domain reputation is close to or below 70, it’s considered poor domain reputation.
How to Check Domain Reputation?
Email Service Provider (ESP) calculates your domain reputation independently. Gmail, Yahoo!, Microsoft Mail, and others assign different reputation scores based on the emails they receive from your domain. They can't assess the emails sent to other ESPs.
You can check domain reputation on a tool such as Google Postmaster. These tools compile scores from different ESPs and provide an average score.
Here are some popular tools to assess your domain reputation:
How to Improve Your Domain Reputation
Your domain reputation plays a crucial role in cold email marketing success. To enhance it, follow these key steps:
IP Address Warm-up
When starting with a new IP address, always warm up—increase your email send volume gradually over a couple of weeks.
Setup Email Authentication Protocols
Implement email authentication protocols for enhanced deliverability. SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), and MX set-ups are a must.
Quality Control Your Email Lists
Maintain clean email lists to prevent negative impacts on email deliverability. Remove inactive subscribers to avoid emailing uninterested recipients.
Send High-Quality, Relevant Emails
Enhance domain reputation by sending valuable, engaging cold emails that align with prospect’s preferences. Positive subscriber responses are key to maintaining a good sender reputation.
Conclusion: How to Improve a Bad Domain Reputation
If you’re struggling with a poor domain reputation, take these steps for recovery:
Check feedback loops to identify the cause of deliverability issues.
Establish a subdomain for sending emails to rebuild trust.
Keep send volumes low to minimize negative signals and gradually improve your sender reputation.
Adhering to these best practices ensures that your domain reputation remains strong, safeguarding email deliverability and boosting your email marketing's profitability.