Why Is Your IP Blacklisted for Spam?
Getting on an IP blacklist is an inconvenience. It makes a palpable dent in your email marketing strategy and results.
The problem isn’t the IP address blacklist. The problem is the reason why you ended up on one.
And that reason is having your emails considered spam.
Who blacklisted me?
DNSBLs (Domain Name System Blacklists) are systems in charge of keeping email traffic safe. Some ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have their very own internal blacklists, while most use publicly available ones. Spamhaus and GoDaddy are two large enterprises that operate blacklists.
Your IP address/addresses or domain is blacklisted to keep users safe from potentially harmful emails. You are blacklisted because your sender reputation is a negative one. Don’t despair, there is such a thing as an IP blacklist removal.
Factors that got you blacklisted
But first, let’s see what are the factors that determine your sender reputation.
These include email volume, complaint rates, spam trap hits, and bounce rates as the main ones. IP neighborhood, the history of your IP address, and sending emails to unknown users are other factors as well.
All of these, along with other more minor ones, contribute to your sender reputation. They also give you a sender score.
If you want to keep your score high, you need to make sure you practice healthy email marketing strategies. This way, you will keep your IP address off any IP address blacklist. It’s easy to check your sender score by going to SenderScore.org.
What am I doing wrong?
If you ended up on an IP address blacklist, you did something wrong – willingly or unwillingly. You didn’t keep in mind some of the main factors we listed above, factors that contribute to your sender score.er more minor ones, contribute to your sender reputation. They also give you a sender score.
If you want to keep your score high, you need to make sure you practice healthy email marketing strategies. This way, you will keep your IP address off any IP address blacklist. It’s easy to check your sender score by going to SenderScore.org.
Email volume
If you’ve suddenly increased your emailing list, ISPs will see this as an attempt at spamming. That’s because such a list grows in time – naturally. A sudden rise is not natural or habitual for healthy companies.
Spam Content
If you send out spam content – in your subject line and inside the email body, it’s most likely that readers will mark it as spam. That mark is an unofficial complaint that ISPs receive. When you gather a large number of complaints you will be blacklisted.
Bounce Rates
If you have high bounce rates or low open rates, ISPs will see this as a sign that your emails are spam. These rates need to be very indicative for you to get blacklisted, but they are indicators. For this reason, quality content is highly important to avoid ending up on an IP blacklist.
What do I do if I am blacklisted?
First offenders aren’t permanently blacklisted.
If you are blacklisted, it’s usually temporary and you’ll be removed after some time without too many negative consequences.
Nonetheless, you might not want to wait that long. In this case, there is the option of getting an IP blacklist removal.
Here we can help. At MailSoar we are experts at email deliverability and issues that might arise – including getting blacklisted. We do this by requesting your blacklist removal or improving your email deliverability.
