Improve email deliverability with Google's new sender guidelines

Customers like authenticity and relatable content and Google has partnered with Yahoo to ensure that companies deliver just that. Email marketing has been at the heart of businesses because of its cost-effectiveness paired with the ease of communication. With all these benefits, it also gives rise to issues such as spam emails, phishing, and unrelatable content, this is why strict guidelines are necessary.

What are Yahoo and Google's new sender guidelines?

In recent years, the volume of spam and junk emails being sent has increased exponentially. It is estimated that 3.4 billion of all emails sent globally are spam. This epidemic of unwanted messages has severely impacted email deliverability rates. Legitimate marketing emails and business correspondence often end up blocked or filtered out along with the spam.

To combat the growing problem of spam emails, Yahoo and Google have jointly introduced new guidelines for senders who send high volumes of email. These rules, which take effect in February 2024, are designed to improve email deliverability and security for all users.

The key requirements include:

Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

The foundation of the new guidelines is the requirement for bulk email senders to authenticate their messages. Yahoo and Google will mandate the use of authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for all messages sent by high-volume senders.

This validates that the emails are truly coming from the domain they claim to be from and have not been spoofed. Email providers can verify the source and mark verified emails as safe, allowing them to bypass spam filters and the unauthenticated emails are far more likely to be flagged as risky or suspicious.

Easy unsubscribe process

The second guideline is requiring user-friendly, one-click unsubscribe options on all commercial messages. Recipients should be able to instantly opt out of any email list with a single click.

Senders must then honour unsubscribe requests within two business days by removing the person from the mailing list. This allows recipients control over their inboxes and prevents the build-up of unwanted emails that lead to spam complaints. Smooth unsubscribing improves the user experience and reduces friction that damages deliverability.

Maintaining a low spam complaint rate

To ensure recipients only receive emails they expect and want Yahoo and Google are imposing a maximum threshold for spam complaints. Senders must maintain a spam complaint rate below 0.1% based on feedback data from the companies' postmaster tools. A rate higher than 0.3% risks severe consequences like blocking or blacklisting.

This compels senders to carefully manage their lists, segmentation, content, and other factors to avoid triggering spam complaints. Listening to user feedback provides an opportunity to optimise campaigns.

By following these guidelines, authentic high-volume senders can overcome obstacles and ensure their emails reliably reach the inbox.

How does an increase in junk emails impact deliverability?

The explosion in spam and other junk emails has severely impacted email deliverability and inbox placement. When inboxes get flooded with unwanted messages, users become more aggressive about marking emails as spam. This might also impact a legitimate business’s reputation.

Open rates drop as people evaluate emails before opening. An increase in spam triggers email providers like Yahoo and Google to implement stricter filters and make sure you do not reach your target audience.

All of this makes it hard for real organisations and marketers to reach the inbox. These deliverability challenges are a key reason behind the new sender guidelines.

What does it mean for the bulk email sender?

The new requirements from Yahoo and Google will have a significant impact on marketers, companies, and other high-volume email senders. Senders who ignore the guidelines and make no effort to comply with the guidelines will be blocked, blacklisted, and end up in the spam folder. Their emails may not reach inboxes at all.

On the other hand, bulk senders who proactively implement the necessary changes will benefit greatly. They will see improved inbox placement, higher open rates, lower bounce, and spam complaint rates, and a good sender reputation score.

But to achieve these benefits, major investments will need to be made by bulk senders. Companies sending over 5,000 emails per day will need to:

• Update email systems to pass authentication checks (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). This confirms the emails come from you.
• Add one-click unsubscribe links to your emails so people can easily opt-out.
• Check your email lists and remove any old or fake addresses that could cause issues.
• Send relevant emails that people expect and want to read. This avoids spam complaints.
• Use free tools like Gmail Postmaster and Yahoo Feedback Loop to monitor your email performance. These show if you have any problems with reaching the inbox or spam reports.

What are the benefits of following the guidelines?

Abiding by Yahoo and Google's new requirements for senders provides significant benefits:

• Most importantly, following the guidelines improves inbox placement rates. Emails from compliant senders are less likely to be flagged or filtered out as suspicious. This directly translates into higher open and response rates.
• Implementing authentication also reduces the risk of spoofing and phishing done under your brand name. This protects your domain's reputation.
• Senders who meet the requirements establish themselves as trusted sources, which pays dividends over time as providers grant higher inbox access and priority. Building a long-term sender reputation protects against temporary spam spikes.
• Requiring easy unsubscribes creates a better user experience and reduces spam button clicks. This protects the sender's score.

Overall, good sender practices reduce friction with ISPs and let messages flow smoothly to reach more engaged users.

How does our tool help you?

Our cold email automation platform is designed to help senders smoothly comply with major inbox providers' deliverability requirements.

• The tool helps you with the personalisation of the bulk content and multichannel prospecting ensures that you build targeted and relevant subscriber lists that actually want to listen to you.
• Our email warmup strategies improve sender reputation across ISPs for reliable inbox delivery.
• Our analytics catch potential issues early, so you can optimise and avoid spam complaints.
• Automated follow-up sequences handle unsubscribes for you.
• Our all-in-one solution makes email marketing easy, from authentication to list management to useful content to performance tracking.

Yahoo's and Google's updated sender requirements aim to remove spam and protect users. While the rules may seem strict, following them offers significant benefits for legitimate, and our tool can help you land in your customer’s inbox smoothly without fail.