Why Emails Go to Spam and How to Prevent It

If your emails are landing in your recipients’ spam or promotions folder, it can negatively impact your engagement and brand trust. This issue is often linked to domain reputation, poor email content, or lack of proper warm-up practices  especially with newly added domains.

This guide explains the causes and offers actionable steps to improve your email deliverability and ensure your emails reach the inbox.

Common Reasons Emails Go to Spam

1. New Domain Without Warm-Up
   Internet Service Providers (ISPs) don’t trust new domains instantly. Sudden bulk email sends from a new domain often trigger spam filters.
   

2. Poor Domain Reputation
   If your domain or IP has been flagged for suspicious activity in the past, it affects current deliverability.
   

3. Spammy Content
   Content with too many links, spam-trigger words (like “Free”, “Buy now”), or inconsistent formatting can lead to spam filtering.
   

4. Lack of Proper Authentication
   Missing or misconfigured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records signal potential spoofing or unauthenticated emails.
   

5. Low Engagement Rates
   If users don’t open or interact with your emails regularly, ISPs may classify your emails as low-quality or irrelevant.
   
   

Recommended Steps to Prevent Spam Delivery

1. Warm-Up New Domains Gradually

• Start by sending small batches of emails.

• Increase volume over time while maintaining high engagement.

• Refer to our Email IP Warm-Up Strategy for a detailed process.
  

2. Check Domain and IP Reputation

• Use these free tools to monitor your reputation:
  

  • AboutMy.Email

  • MailTester

  • MXTollbox

  • Spamhaus
    

3. Analyze Email Content with Spam Checkers

• Tools like Mailmeteor can analyze your email's spam score.

• Avoid excessive links, misleading subject lines, and large attachments.
  

4. Send Test Emails

• Send a test email to your own inbox and check where it lands.

• Use AboutMy.Email to see headers, spam scores, and authentication info.

• Track how Gmail, Outlook, or Yahoo treat your message.
  

5. Ensure Proper DNS Authentication

• Add and verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain.

• These authenticate your email source and help build trust with ISPs.
  
  

Proactive Best Practices

• Always use a verified sending domain.
  

• Maintain a clean subscriber list by regularly removing bounced and unengaged users.
  

• Send emails only to an opt-in list.
  An opt-in list includes recipients who have explicitly given permission to receive your emails. This means the business has previously sent a validation email to confirm the recipient’s email ID and obtained consent before sending any marketing or transactional emails. Following this approach helps reduce spam complaints and improves overall deliverability.
  

• Validate all new email IDs using the MSG91 Bulk Email Validation feature before adding them to your mailing list. This ensures only active and permission-based addresses are included.
  

• Avoid using link shorteners and attachment-heavy emails.
  

• Use proper preheaders and personalized content to improve engagement rates.
  

• Regularly monitor your domain’s health and email performance to detect and resolve issues proactively.
  

By following these practices, you can significantly improve email inbox placement and build a reliable sender reputation over time.

If you're following all practices and still face issues, contact our support team