Gmail Error: “Gmail has detected that this message is likely unsolicited mail”

#

Error Message

Gmail has detected that this message is likely unsolicited mail.
To reduce the amount of spam sent to Gmail, this message has been blocked.
For more information, go to:
https://support.google.com/mail/?p=UnsolicitedMessageError

#

Why This Error Occurs

This error occurs when Gmail identifies your sending domain or email traffic as potentially spammy or unsolicited.

Please note that this is not an MSG91 platform issue. The email requests are being processed successfully from our end; however, Gmail is rejecting the emails due to the sender/domain reputation at Google’s end.

Common reasons for this issue include:

  • Poor domain reputation

  • High spam complaint rate

  • Newly created or low-trust domains

  • Sudden increase in email sending volume

  • Low recipient engagement

  • Missing or incorrectly configured SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records


#

Domain-Specific Behavior

#

Gmail Recipients (@gmail.com)

Emails sent to Gmail users may get completely rejected with the following error:

Gmail has detected that this message is likely unsolicited mail.

This occurs because Gmail applies stricter spam filtering and reputation checks for incoming emails.

#

Non-Gmail Recipients

For non-Gmail domains, emails are generally delivered successfully; however, they may land in the Spam/Junk folder instead of the Inbox due to the current domain reputation.


#

Recommended Solution

#

Register Your Domain with Gmail Postmaster Tools

We strongly recommend registering your domain with Gmail Postmaster Tools to monitor and improve your sender reputation.

#

Benefits

  • Monitor domain reputation

  • Track spam complaint rates

  • Check IP reputation

  • Identify Gmail delivery issues

  • Improve inbox placement over time

#

Steps

  1. Open Gmail Postmaster Tools:
    Gmail Postmaster Tools

  2. Add your sending domain.
    Example:

alerts.abcd.com
  1. Verify domain ownership using the DNS TXT record provided by Google.

  2. Regularly monitor the following metrics:

    • Spam Rate

    • Domain Reputation

    • IP Reputation

    • Delivery Errors


#

Additional Best Practices

To improve email deliverability and domain reputation:

  • Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records correctly

  • Send emails only to opted-in recipients

  • Avoid sudden spikes in email sending volume

  • Remove inactive or bounced email addresses regularly

  • Maintain healthy recipient engagement

  • Avoid spam-triggering content in subject lines and email bodies

#

Domain Warm-Up

To improve your domain reputation gradually, you can also perform domain warm-up activities. For more details, refer to the help article below:

Warm-up in Email Sending


#

Important Note

MSG91 does not control Gmail’s spam filtering or domain reputation systems. Gmail independently decides whether emails should be accepted, rejected, or delivered to the spam folder based on sender reputation, recipient engagement, and email practices.

Once your domain reputation improves, Gmail delivery and inbox placement should gradually improve as well.