How to check your domain reputation and improve it ?

Your domain reputation refers to the perceived trustworthiness and credibility of your domain on the internet, often influenced by factors such as email deliverability, website security, and overall online behavior. It plays a crucial role in determining how well your domain is perceived by both users and internet service providers, ultimately impacting its visibility and effectiveness online.

Understanding your domain reputation allows you to maintain a good sender reputation and ensure that your online presence isn't tarnished by unseen pitfalls. 

How does a domain reputation work ? How to check it ? How to improve it ? Why do you need to use an email warmer ? Here is what you need to know !

Understanding Domain Reputation

The Basics of Domain Reputation

Unlike IP reputation, which focuses on the reputation of specific IP addresses used for sending emails, domain reputation evaluates the general behavior of a domain based on its past actions. This assessment hinges on how recipients primarily interact with emails originating from that domain. A domain reputation score is then assigned, reflecting the level of trustworthiness associated with your domain.

It's important to note the close relationship between domain reputation and IP reputation. While you might have a positive email sender reputation associated with your IP address, if emails are sent from a domain with a poor reputation, they may still end up relegated to spam folders. Achieving optimal email deliverability requires maintaining positive standings in both domain and IP reputation.

Depending on your mailbox or email service provider, you may have various degrees of control over your sending IP. For instance, if you're using Google or Outlook, the management of IP addresses falls under the purview of these providers, leaving you with little control. Yet, this arrangement is generally favorable since major mailbox providers like Google and Outlook boast highly reputable IP addresses, enhancing the deliverability of your emails.

Components Impacting Domain Reputation

5 main factors are influencing the way that your domain is perceived in the digital realm : 

✅ N°1 : Your user engagement. Metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, reply rates, and the frequency with which emails are starred or removed from spam folders all contribute to evaluating your email sender reputation. High levels of user engagement signal to mailbox providers that your emails are relevant and sought after. At the other hand, low engagement can tarnish your reputation, increasing the likelihood of your emails being relegated to spam folders. In essence, user engagement serves as the litmus test for distinguishing between valuable senders and potential spammers.

✅ N°2 : The choice of your email service or mailbox provider. Opting for a reputable provider with a track record of reliable email delivery, trusted by both mailbox providers and spam filters, can drastically impact your inbox placement. In the ever-evolving landscape of 2024, selecting a provider known for maintaining positive sender reputations is paramount for maximizing email deliverability.

✅ N°3 : The frequency of spam complaints. High spam complaint rates send a clear signal to mailbox providers that your emails are unwelcome or irrelevant, thereby damaging your sender reputation. Minimizing spam complaints becomes imperative for safeguarding and nurturing your sender reputation over time, and also keep a good Spam Score in general.

✅ N°4 : Your sending volume. Sending an excessive volume of emails raises red flags and is often associated with spammy behavior. Conversely, sending fewer emails signals a more human-like approach, thereby enhancing the likelihood of inbox placement.

✅ N°5 : Bounce rates and effective list management. Bounce rates reflect the proportion of emails that fail to be delivered due to various reasons, including invalid addresses. High bounce rates, particularly hard bounces indicating emails sent to non-existent addresses, can significantly impact deliverability and sender score. This is because they signal a lack of understanding or control over your recipient list, diminishing your credibility in the eyes of mailbox providers.

How to check your domain reputation ?

If you want to check your domain reputation, you can use tools like MailReach's Email Warmer, which was especially designed for businesses engaged in professional email outreach (B2B). It provides comprehensive insights into your domain's Reputation Score and other vital metrics essential for maintaining a positive sender reputation.

MailReach's Email Warmer employs sophisticated algorithms to track and analyze various aspects of your email sending practices, helping you to determine the health of your domain reputation. By regularly monitoring your Reputation Score through tools like MailReach, you can identify potential issues early on and take proactive steps to address them, thus safeguarding your email deliverability and ensuring your messages reach their intended recipients' inboxes.

MailReach's Email Warmer offers also actionable recommendations and insights to improve your sender reputation, such as optimizing email content, refining sending practices, and minimizing spam complaints. By implementing these suggestions, you can enhance your domain's reputation and maximize the effectiveness of your email outreach efforts.

How to improve your domain reputation ?

Improving your domain reputation is vital for ensuring that your emails reach their intended recipients' inboxes instead of being lost in the vast expanse of spam folders. Here's how you can boost your domain reputation and enhance your email deliverability in 7 steps, even if you're new to the game : 

✅ Step #1 : Maximize your engagement rate with email warm-up. Email warm-up, or email warming, is about gradually building positive engagement with your emails to establish and maintain a good sender reputation. This involves sending emails that recipients open, reply to, mark as important, and don't mark as spam. By doing this, you show email providers that you're a legitimate sender worth listening to ;

✅ Step #2 : Choose a highly reputable email service provider. For cold outreach, opt for trusted providers like Google Workspace, Office 365, or Zoho. These providers have excellent deliverability rates, meaning your emails are more likely to reach your recipients' inboxes. Plus, they're widely used, increasing your chances of landing safely in the inbox ;

✅ Step #3 : Authenticate your domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Ensure that your emails are authenticated to prove they come from a legitimate source. This involves setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, which help prevent your emails from being marked as spam or not delivered at all. Authentication boosts your sender reputation and improves deliverability. Our DKIM Checker is precisely made to help you in this tak ;

✅ Step #4 : Limit your volume of emails sent (for cold outreach). When conducting cold outreach, don't bombard recipients with emails. Stick to sending a maximum of 150 cold emails per day per email address, ideally per domain. Maintaining a human-like sending behavior improves your sender reputation and deliverability ; 

✅ Step #5 : Minimize spam complaints with well-crafted emails (for cold outreach). Craft your emails thoughtfully to minimize the likelihood of recipients marking them as spam. Use personalization, focus on providing value, avoid being pushy, and limit follow-ups to no more than two. You can also use our Email Spam Test to identify eventual spam words in your emails and delete them ;

✅ Step #6 : Include an easy-to-spot unsubscribe link. Respect recipients' preferences by providing a clear and simple way for them to opt out of receiving further emails from you. This not only reduces spam complaints but also builds trust with your audience ;

✅ Step #7 : Maintain a clean email list. Regularly verify email addresses before sending campaigns, especially for cold outreach. For marketing, newsletters, and transactional emails, use double opt-in to ensure list accuracy and remove inactive subscribers to keep your list fresh and engaged.

Monitoring and Maintaining Your Domain Reputation

Use an email warmer like MailReach (if you send professional emails)

If you're sending professional emails, you must monitor and maintain your domain reputation, consistently. 

One effective tool for achieving this is using an email warmer like the one provided by MailReach. This tool assists in gradually increasing positive engagement with your emails, which is essential for building and preserving a positive sender reputation. 

By warming up your email address, you demonstrate to mailbox providers that you're a legitimate sender, increasing the likelihood of your emails reaching recipients' inboxes. 

For more information on what email warmup is, watch this video below 👇

Adapt to changes

Adapting to changes in the email landscape is crucial to ensure the effectiveness of your email strategies. This involves staying informed about evolving email standards and recipient behaviors, as well as adjusting your approach accordingly based on insights gained from monitoring your reputation.

Email deliverability rules are constantly evolving, with major providers like Google and Yahoo frequently updating their sending guidelines. For instance, in February 2024, both Google and Yahoo introduced significant changes to their email sending rules. Being aware of these updates is essential as they can directly impact your sender reputation and email deliverability.

By staying ahead of these changes and understanding how they affect your email campaigns, you can make timely adjustments to your strategies. This might involve optimizing your email content and formatting to comply with updated standards, or modifying your sending practices in response to shifts in recipient behavior.

Conclusion

In conclusion, here are the key takeaways for checking and improving your domain reputation : 

🔎 Use tools like MailReach's Email Warmer to monitor and gradually increase positive engagement with your emails, enhancing your sender reputation over time.

🔎 Choose reputable email service providers like Google Workspace, Office 365, or Zoho for better deliverability and inbox placement.

🔎 Authenticate your domain by setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to prove the legitimacy of your emails and reduce the risk of them being marked as spam.

🔎 Limit the volume of emails sent for cold outreach to maintain a human-like sending behavior and avoid triggering spam filters.

🔎 Craft well-structured and personalized emails to minimize spam complaints and improve recipient engagement.

🔎 Stay informed about evolving email standards and adjust your email strategies accordingly to adapt to changes in recipient behavior and provider rules.