Domain Reputation: What It Is & How to Improve It

Domain reputation is used by email service providers to determine whether an email should be delivered or marked as spam. Having a good domain reputation can help improve email deliverability, engagement, and brand status. However, you might not know how to check it.

Fortunately, there are a ton of free ways to measure domain reputation. Then, you’re able to improve your reputation by setting up the appropriate authentication protocols, maintaining consistent sending patterns, and avoiding spam words. 

In this post, we’ll take a closer look at domain reputation and why it’s important. Then, we’ll show you how you can check your own domain reputation and then take steps to improve it. Let’s get to it!

What Is Domain Reputation?

Domain reputation (also called IP or sender reputation) concerns the health and legitimacy of your email domain, and is determined by internet service providers (ISP) and mailbox providers. It affects email deliverability since providers may decide that your domain belongs in the spam folder as opposed to the recipient’s inbox.

This then directly affects important things like email open rates, click-throughs, and conversions. Plus, your email reputation can impact brand perception. For example, if end-users notice that your emails are flagged as spam, it can make your business appear unprofessional and untrustworthy.

How Is Domain Reputation Calculated?

Now, let’s discuss how domain reputations are calculated. It’s important to first note that each mailbox provider may measure domain reputation differently.

So, for example, the sender score assigned to you by Yahoo may be completely different than the score given by Gmail. However, here are some key factors that can contribute to your domain reputation:

• Domain age. A new domain sending out lots of emails may seem suspicious, but an older more established domain will likely see more leniency.
• Email engagement. If people don’t open emails (or tons of recipients unsubscribe from your emails), this can lead to a poor email reputation.
• Frequency.If you send emails too often, this can look suspicious and it can hinder your domain reputation.
• Blacklisting. Email platforms keep a blacklist of spammers and malicious actors, so if you’ve sent lots of messages that have received spam complaints, your email might end up on this type of blacklist.
• Spam traps. It’s important to make sure you aren’t sending emails to spam traps (or fake email addresses). That’s why it’s a good idea to clean up your mailing list frequently.

You can increase your domain reputation by switching to a custom email domain that represents your business. This is also a great way to boost credibility and reinforce your brand.

If you don’t already have a domain, you can find one using SirsteveHQ’s free domain search tool or better yet, purchase a domain along with your email hosting plan.

Better yet, some plans (including all WordPress packages) provide free email accounts. If you need web hosting and don’t plan to use email very much, then this might be the better option for you. With our WordPress hosting, you’ll get access to a free SSL certificate, daily backups, and an automatic WordPress installation upon purchase.

How to Check Your Domain Reputation

Now that you know a bit about the importance of domain reputations, here are three ways to check yours.

1. Google Postmaster Tools

Google Postmaster Tools can help you evaluate your domain and IP reputation. Plus you can gain insight into other metrics that affect email deliverability, like spam rate, encryption, authentication, and more.

This free tool is designed to work with Gmail, and you’ll need to make sure you have a large enough volume to anonymize the data. When the test is complete, you’ll receive an exact reputation grade and an extensive report to help you make improvements.

2. Talos Intelligence

Provided by Cisco, Talos Intelligence also allows you to monitor your online reputation across various IPs. Like Google Postmaster, this reputation lookup tool is free.

All you have to do is head to the Reputation Center, paste your domain into the taskbar, and run a report. However, you’ll need a large enough email volume for Talos to properly assess your domain.

3. MXToolBox

MXToolBox is one of the best tools to assess your email reputation. Simply enter your domain to start the diagnostics check. Then, the tool will identify deliverability issues and help you find out if your domain appears on any email blacklists.

How to Improve Your Domain Reputation (5 Ways)

Now that you know how to check your domain reputation, here are five simple ways to improve it.

1. Review Your Mailing Lists

One of the easiest ways to improve the reputation of your domain is to regularly review your email marketing lists. Therefore, you’ll want to keep a look out for inactive subscribers that haven’t engaged with your emails in a while. In this scenario, it’s best to delete these inactive addresses from your email marketing list since it’s possible that these are spam traps.

2. Set Up Domain Authentication

Even if you aren’t trying to boost your reputation, it’s a good idea to use email authentication protocols that verify the integrity and legitimacy of your emails.

Typically, these authentication tools verify your identity, so they allow recipients to open messages with confidence. Plus, this will make it less likely that your emails land in spam folders. Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is the main protocol you’ll come across.

However, it should be paired with additional measures like DKIM, which adds digital signatures to messages, and DMARC which enforces the former two protocols.

3. Create Quality Content

The next way to improve email deliverability and enhance your IP reputation is to simply create quality content that’s highly relevant to the recipient. If your content is useful, you’ll likely receive more engagement, which can lead to higher open rates, click-throughs, and conversions.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to write captivating subject lines, use personalization, and make sure the content offers value. Additionally, it’s best to avoid presenting your call to action (CTA) too early.

Instead, focus on educating or entertaining your audience. Plus, it’s important to make your emails look visually appealing by using the right colors and fonts, as well as including images.

4. Maintain Consistent Sending Patterns

If you send too many emails over a short period of time, you’re more likely to get flagged by mailbox providers. Therefore, it’s best to stick to consistent sending patterns, and find the right time and interval for your messages. This way, your sending patterns will be more recognizable to mailbox providers.

5. Avoid Spam Words 

The next way to boost IP and domain reputation is to avoid using spam words like “deal” and “buy now”. That’s because this can trigger the ISP’s spam filter and land your message directly in the spam folder.

Even if your email does slip through spam filters, users are likely to be wary of your message since it’s obvious that you’re looking to sell something. This is especially relevant for email subject lines (although you should still be cautious within your email copy).

Conclusion

If you want to improve email deliverability, increase open rates, and avoid blacklists, you’ll need to have a strong IP and domain reputation. The good news is that you can check your email reputation first using free tools like Google Postmaster Tools and MXToolBox. 

After that, you can try the following strategies to improve your domain reputation:

1. Review your mailing lists.
2. Set up domain authentication.
3. Create quality content.
4. Maintain consistent sending patterns.
5. Avoid spam words.

Do you have any questions about how to check your domain reputation? Let us know in the comments section below!