Resources > Glossary

Sender reputation

  • By SendBridge Team

  • Last update: Jan 10, 2024

Email sender reputation is a score assigned to a sender based on their email practices and behavior, which can affect email deliverability. Email providers use sender reputation scores to determine whether or not to deliver an email to the recipient's inbox or to send it to the spam folder. The sender reputation score is based on several factors, including the sender's email content, frequency of sending, email list hygiene, and engagement rates.

The Importance of Sender Reputation

Sender reputation is essential for ensuring that your emails are delivered to the intended recipients. When your reputation score is high, your emails are more likely to land in the inbox, while a low score can result in your emails being marked as spam. This can have a significant impact on your email marketing efforts, as a low sender reputation can result in decreased engagement rates, lower open and click-through rates, and ultimately, reduced revenue.

Factors Affecting Sender Reputation

Several factors can affect your sender reputation, including:

  • Email content: The content of your emails plays a crucial role in your sender reputation. Emails that contain spammy or suspicious content are more likely to be flagged as spam and can negatively impact your reputation.

  • Frequency of sending: Sending too many emails to your subscribers in a short period can trigger spam filters and affect your sender reputation. It is recommended to space out your email campaigns and avoid sending too many emails in a short period.

  • Email list hygiene: A clean email list is essential for maintaining a good sender reputation. Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses from your list to reduce the chances of bouncing and spam complaints.

  • Engagement rates: The engagement rates of your emails, such as open and click-through rates, can also impact your sender reputation. High engagement rates indicate that your subscribers find your content valuable and relevant, which in turn can boost your reputation.

Improving Sender Reputation

If your sender reputation is low, there are several steps you can take to improve it:

  • Monitor your sender reputation regularly: Use email monitoring tools to keep an eye on your sender reputation score and identify any potential issues.

  • Improve email content: Ensure that your email content is valuable, relevant, and free of spammy or suspicious content.

  • Space out email campaigns: Avoid sending too many emails in a short period and give your subscribers time to engage with your content.

  • Maintain email list hygiene: Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses from your list to reduce the chances of bouncing and spam complaints.

  • Engage your subscribers: Encourage your subscribers to engage with your emails by providing valuable content, personalized recommendations, and incentives.

Sender reputation is a crucial aspect of email marketing that can impact the success of your campaigns. By maintaining a good sender reputation, you can ensure that your emails are delivered to the intended recipients and avoid being marked as spam. By monitoring your sender reputation score regularly and implementing best practices for email content, frequency of sending, email list hygiene, and engagement rates, you can improve your sender reputation and achieve better results from your email marketing efforts