Preventing Emails from Going to the Spam Folder

As an email service provider, Yotpo sends marketing emails on behalf of your brand. Once these emails reach inbox service providers (ISPs) like Gmail and Yahoo, they are filtered according to each provider’s rules. Every ISP has its own set of guidelines for scanning inbound emails and sorting them using complex algorithms that are not public. However, there are some common reasons why emails end up in the spam folder.

In this article, you’ll learn what causes emails to go to the spam folder and how to prevent it.

Gmail and Yahoo sender requirements

Google and Yahoo’s updated sender requirements went into effect in February 2024. If you are seeing emails go to spam, make sure that you meet the requirements set in place by Gmail and Yahoo. To learn more, see Preparing for Google and Yahoo’s New Sender Requirements.

Internal emails

Brands often send test emails from Yotpo to their own domain to test messages. However, sending these emails to many recipients within the same organization can be flagged as a spoofing attack. To prevent this, the IT team needs to add the sending domain to the allowlist, ensuring the company's email system recognizes the messages as legitimate and does not treat them as spam.

Reputation warming

If you're using a new sending domain, it's essential to warm it up before sending emails to a large number of recipients. This involves gradually increasing your email volume to build trust with ISPs and establish a positive sender reputation.

Start by sending a small number of emails and slowly increase the volume over time. This will help guarantee that your emails are seen as legitimate and avoid being flagged as spam. To learn more about reputation warming, see Warming Your New Domain Infrastructure.

Email content

The content of your emails plays a crucial role in whether they get flagged as spam. Image-only messages often end up in the spam folder. Ideally, your emails should be personalized and have a 60/40 text-to-image ratio. Additionally, make sure that the messages you send comply with the CAN-SPAM Act:

• Avoid false or misleading header information

• Don’t use deceptive subject lines

• Identify the message as an ad

• Include your physical address

• Provide a simple, reliable way for recipients to opt out of future emails

Tip:

To learn more about email compliance regulations and how to personalize your emails, see Complying with the CAN-SPAM Act When Sending Emails and Adding Dynamic Content with Personalization Tags.

Deliverability metrics

ISPs use past performance metrics to evaluate a sender's reputation. Consistent engagement metrics, such as high open and click-through rates and low bounce and spam rates, reduce the chances of your emails being flagged as spam. Maintaining steady, positive performance is key to establishing a strong reputation. To learn more about managing your email deliverability, see Improving the Health of Your Deliverability Metrics.