Why Your Emails Go to Spam (and How to Fix It)

Few things are as frustrating as sending an important email and finding out it went to spam. The good news: for legitimate senders, it's almost always fixable. Here are the usual causes and how to solve them.

1. Your domain isn't authenticated

The number-one cause. If you haven't published SPF, DKIM and DMARC, mailbox providers can't verify your mail is really from you - so they treat it with suspicion. Set them up first. See SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained.

2. Your sending IP or domain has a poor reputation

Reputation is everything in deliverability. Sending from shared, poorly-managed infrastructure - or from an IP that other senders have abused - drags you down. See how to improve email deliverability. Check whether you're listed anywhere, too - see how to check if your domain is blacklisted.

3. You're triggering spam filters

Content and behaviour matter:

• Spammy subject lines and misleading "clickbait"
• Big image-only emails with little text
• Broken or mismatched links
• Sending to old, dead addresses that bounce - see email bounce messages explained

4. People are marking you as spam

If recipients hit "report spam", providers listen. Keep complaints low by only emailing people who expect to hear from you and making unsubscribe easy. See how to reduce email spam complaints.

5. A brand-new domain with no track record

Fresh domains have no reputation yet, so mail can land in spam until you build one. Warm it up gradually. See how to warm up a new email domain.

The quick fix checklist

1. Publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC
2. Send from well-managed infrastructure
3. Clean your list of dead addresses
4. Write honest subject lines and balanced content
5. Make unsubscribing easy and honour it

Start from a trusted foundation

Most deliverability problems trace back to the sending infrastructure and authentication. DigiCloudMail sends from well-managed IPs and sets up your authentication correctly - so your mail reaches the inbox.

Stuck in spam? Contact us and we'll get you back to the inbox.