Salesforce Marketing Cloud - Sender Reputation

Sender Reputation

 

Sender Reputation is how ISPs view a particular sender's quality of the mail they send. Sender Reputations is usually based on the sender's IP address, but domain reputation is tracked by some ISPs(ISPs plan on more domain-based measures in future).

 

Factors which contribute to Sender Reputation:

 

- Spam complaints

- Invalid Addresses

- Spamtrap hits

- Authentication (SPF, Sender ID, DKIM)

- Third-party blacklistings

- Engagement

 

ISPs use these factors to determine if recipients want the sender's email and if they're engaging with the messages.

 

ISPs also measure and consider :

- What messages get sent.

- Which lists they're sent to

- How often messages bounce.

- How many complaints they generate.

 

If messages are deemed as spam or other unwanted mail, ISPs will try hard to block it, regardless of what email engine is used to send it.

 

How Sender Reputation affects how email is delivered

- Bad reputation: Spam folder or block
- Good reputation: Inbox

Sender Reputation best practices for Inbox delivery
Building a good reputation is the key to inbox delivery. Here's what to focus on:

- Opt-in is the most important. If people don’t want your email, your reputation suffers.
- Comply with anti-spam law (as a starting point, not finish point).
- Honor unsubscribes.
- Remove addresses when they bounce.
- Unsubscribe people who file spam complaints.
- Don’t play games with permission.
- Send people only what they expect.
- Use clear, easy-to-understand processes for opting in and unsubscribing.
- Don’t buy lists, don’t append. (You can’t buy an opt-in!)
- Authenticate your mail (SPF and DKIM).