Your emails look perfect. Your messaging hits right. Your campaigns are perfectly timed.
But they're landing in spam, and you have no idea why.
Here's the frustrating part: email deliverability is the foundation that makes everything else work. You can have the best product, compelling copy, and sophisticated automation. But if Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook don't trust your emails, you're basically shouting into the void.
The good news is that spam problems follow patterns. Once you understand what triggers spam filters and how to fix common issues, you can get your emails back in the inbox where they belong. This guide breaks down why emails go to spam, how spam filters actually work, and what you need to do to fix deliverability problems for good.
TL;DR: Why Emails Go to Spam
Common reasons emails go to spam:
- Poor sender reputation: Low domain/IP reputation, high complaint rates, low engagement
- Missing or incorrect authentication: No SPF/DKIM/DMARC records or misconfigured records
- Content issues: Spam trigger words, poor HTML, suspicious links, attachments
- List quality problems: Invalid email addresses, purchased lists, low engagement
- Sending patterns: Sudden volume spikes, sending to inactive addresses, high bounce rates
- Blacklist issues: Domain or IP on spam blacklists
Quick fixes:
- Set up SPF/DKIM/DMARC authentication records
- Monitor and improve sender reputation
- Clean your email lists and remove invalid addresses
- Avoid spam trigger words and suspicious content
- Send consistently and avoid sudden volume spikes
- Monitor blacklists and remove your domain/IP if listed
What to watch out for: Spam filters look at everything. Your reputation, authentication, content, and sending patterns all matter. Fixing just one problem won't help if the others are still broken. You need to tackle all of them.
For understanding deliverability tools, see our email deliverability tools guide. For checking reputation, check how to check domain reputation.
How Spam Filters Work
Before we dive into fixes, you need to understand how spam filters think. Modern spam filters are like suspicious security guards. They watch everything you do and look for reasons not to trust you.
Every major email provider (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, Apple Mail) runs their own spam filters with their own quirks. But they all look at the same basic signals to decide if your email gets through.
Reputation signals:
Your sender reputation is like a credit score for email. ISPs track everything: how many people open your emails, how many click, how many hit that spam button. If you've been sending for a while, they know exactly how recipients react to your messages. New domains start with neutral (or low) reputation. Send good emails that people want, and it goes up. Send junk, and it tanks fast.
Authentication signals:
Authentication proves you are who you say you are. SPF records tell ISPs which servers can send email for your domain. DKIM adds a digital signature that proves your email wasn't tampered with. DMARC tells ISPs what to do if authentication fails. Without these, you're basically sending emails without ID. Most ISPs will assume you're up to no good.
Content signals:
Spam filters scan your actual email content for red flags. They look for sketchy words like "free money" or "act now." They check if your HTML is broken or if you're hiding text. They examine every link to see if any point to suspicious sites. Too many images, weird formatting, or attachments can all trigger filters.
Sending pattern signals:
ISPs watch how you send. If you normally send 1,000 emails a day and suddenly blast 50,000, that looks suspicious. If half your list bounces, that's a red flag. Sending to people who haven't opened an email in six months tells ISPs you don't care about engagement.
The reality: Nobody knows the exact formula. Gmail doesn't publish their spam algorithm. Neither does Yahoo or Microsoft. But we know what they care about from years of testing and observation. Focus on being a good sender, and the algorithms will reward you.
Common Reasons Emails Go to Spam
Now that you know how filters work, here are the specific problems that land emails in spam:
Poor Sender Reputation
This is the big one. If ISPs don't trust you, nothing else matters.
Think of sender reputation like your credit score for email. Every email you send either builds or damages that score. When people open your emails, click links, and reply, your reputation goes up. When they delete without reading or hit the spam button, it drops.
Here's what damages reputation fast: sending to old lists full of dead emails, buying email lists (never do this), or suddenly blasting way more emails than usual. Even good senders can tank their reputation by making one bad decision. I've seen companies destroy years of good reputation in a single campaign by sending to a purchased list that had loads of spam traps on it.
The worst part is that reputation problems compound. Once your reputation drops, fewer emails reach the inbox. That means lower engagement, which further hurts your reputation. It becomes a death spiral that's hard to escape.
Domain reputation vs IP reputation
Domain reputation follows your brand. It is tied to the visible From domain and the DKIM signing domain. It moves with you across providers and IPs. It is driven by engagement, complaints, spam traps, authentication alignment, and consistency. Gmail leans heavily on domain reputation.
IP reputation follows the server that sends your mail. It matters most with Microsoft and some corporate gateways. On shared IPs you inherit the behavior of every tenant. Dedicated IPs put all risk and reward on you and must be warmed up carefully.
How to monitor:
- Google Postmaster Tools for domain and IP reputation
- Microsoft SNDS for IP health
- SenderScore to spot broad IP issues
How to improve:
- Align authentication. Make the DKIM d= and visible From domain align to the same organizational domain
- Send only to recent, engaged recipients until metrics recover
- Ramp volume gradually when reputation is weak or when moving to a new IP
- Split traffic by subdomain to isolate risk. Use separate subdomains for marketing, product, and transactional streams
Avoid quick fixes. Domain hopping or swapping IPs without fixing list and content problems only moves the issue
How to fix reputation problems:
First, find out how bad it is. Google Postmaster Tools shows you exactly what Gmail thinks of your domain. Microsoft SNDS does the same for Outlook. Check these regularly, not just when you have problems.
Next, stop the bleeding. Immediately suppress zero‑engagement segments. Target subscribers with zero opens and zero clicks across your last 8 to 12 sends, or across the last 60 to 90 days based on your cadence. Run a short re‑engagement series. If there is still no open or click, remove them. A smaller engaged list beats a big dead one every time.
Then focus on re-engagement. Send your best content to your most engaged subscribers. Get some positive signals flowing. As your engagement rates improve, ISPs will start trusting you again.
If you're starting fresh with a new domain or IP, warm up slowly. Start with 50 emails on day one, then 100, then 200. Double your volume every few days until you reach your normal sending levels. Rush this process and ISPs will assume you're a spammer.
Missing or Incorrect Authentication
Authentication is your email ID card. Without it, you're basically a stranger trying to get into a secure building.
As of 2024, authentication isn't optional anymore. Gmail and Yahoo require SPF and DKIM for all bulk senders. If you're missing these, your emails won't just go to spam, they might not get delivered at all.
Here's what each authentication method does:
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) tells the world which servers can send email for your domain. It's a simple text record in your DNS that lists your authorized sending IPs. Without SPF, anyone can pretend to send email from your domain.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails. It's like a wax seal on an old letter. If someone changes your email in transit, the signature breaks and ISPs know something's wrong.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication) is your enforcement policy. It tells ISPs what to do when SPF or DKIM fail. Start with a monitoring policy to see what's happening, then gradually move to quarantine or reject.
How to fix authentication:
Setting up authentication isn't hard, but you need to be precise. One typo in your SPF record and emails fail authentication.
Start with SPF. Add a TXT record to your domain's DNS that lists all your sending services. If you use multiple email services, include them all. The record looks something like: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:sendgrid.net ~all
Next, set up DKIM. Your email service provider should give you a DKIM key to add to your DNS. This is usually a long string of characters. Copy it exactly as they provide it.
Finally, add DMARC. Start with a monitoring policy: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com. This tells ISPs to send you reports without blocking anything. Once you're confident everything's working, change the policy to quarantine or reject.
Use MXToolbox or Google's Admin Toolbox to verify everything's working. Send test emails and check the headers to confirm authentication is passing.
Content Issues
Your content might be triggering spam filters without you realizing it.
Spam filters have seen millions of spam emails. They know the patterns. Certain words, phrases, and formatting choices scream "spam" to these filters, even if your intentions are good.
The obvious triggers are words like "free," "guarantee," "limited time," and "act now." But it goes deeper than that. Using ALL CAPS, excessive exclamation points!!!, or $ymb0ls in your subject lines all raise red flags. Even innocent phrases like "increase your sales" or "double your revenue" can trigger filters if used carelessly.
HTML problems are another common issue. If your email has broken tags, hidden text (text the same color as the background), or a terrible text-to-image ratio, filters get suspicious. Some marketers try to bypass text filters by putting everything in images. Bad idea. Filters see an email that's 90% images and assume you're hiding something.
Links matter too. Every link in your email gets checked. Link shorteners like bit.ly look suspicious because spammers use them to hide malicious URLs. Too many links relative to your text content also raises flags. And if any of your links point to blacklisted domains, your whole email gets flagged.
How to write emails that pass content filters:
Write like a human talking to another human. Skip the hype and sales speak. Instead of "AMAZING DEAL - ACT NOW!!!", try "Here's a discount for our subscribers."
Balance your HTML. Aim for at least 60% text to 40% images. Always include a plain text version of your email. Make sure your HTML validates and doesn't have broken tags.
Be careful with links. Use full URLs from your own domain when possible. If you must use tracking links, use your own branded domain, not a generic shortener. Keep your link-to-text ratio reasonable. Three or four links in a 200-word email is fine. Twenty links is not.
Test before sending. Run your emails through Mail-Tester or GlockApps. These tools scan your content and tell you exactly what might trigger spam filters. Fix any issues before you hit send.
External assets and third‑party hosts
Spam filters evaluate every host you link to in an email. That includes your click tracking domain and every image URL.
- Shared image hosts and generic CDNs can drag you down if other senders abuse them
- Mismatched domains can look risky. A From domain of
brand.comwith images and clicks onrandom-cdn.netis a weak trust signal - Link shorteners are high risk. They hide the destination and are heavily abused
- Always use HTTPS. HTTP links reduce trust and can trigger blocks at security gateways
- If your asset host was flagged, move images and files to a branded subdomain you control
Preferred setup:
- Serve images from a branded asset domain like
images.brand.com - Use a branded click tracking domain like
links.brand.comso every URL in your email resolves on your domain
With Bento you can enable link and asset domain branding so all image and click URLs use your domain. That reduces mismatched domain signals and protects you from other senders’ CDN reputation. See the guidance in our Deliverability Letter for link shorteners and HTTPS requirements (Bento Deliverability Letter).
List Quality Problems
A bad email list will kill your deliverability faster than anything else.
Here's what happens: you send to a list full of old, invalid, or unengaged email addresses. Half of them bounce. The other half never open your emails. ISPs see this pattern and conclude you're sending spam. Your reputation tanks, and suddenly even your good subscribers aren't getting your emails.
The temptation to buy email lists is strong, especially when you're starting out. Don't do it. Purchased lists are deliverability poison. They're full of spam traps (email addresses ISPs use to catch spammers), invalid addresses, and people who never asked to hear from you. Send to a purchased list and you'll destroy your sender reputation instantly.
Even organic lists decay over time. People change email addresses, abandon old accounts, or just lose interest. Industry data shows email lists decay at about 22.5% per year. That means nearly a quarter of your list goes bad every single year if you don't maintain it.
How to maintain a healthy list:
Start with double opt-in. Yes, you'll get fewer signups. But the ones you get actually want your emails. They've confirmed twice that they want to hear from you. That's powerful.
Validate emails at the point of signup. Use real-time validation to catch typos and invalid addresses before they enter your list. It's much easier to prevent bad emails from getting in than to clean them out later.
Regularly clean your list. Remove hard bounces immediately. They're dead addresses that will never work. Soft bounces (temporary delivery failures) get three strikes before removal.
Pay attention to engagement. Build a zero‑engagement segment. If a subscriber has zero opens and zero clicks across your last 8 to 12 sends, or across 60 to 90 days based on your cadence, send a short re‑engagement sequence. If there is still no open or click, suppress them. It hurts to see your list shrink, but quality beats quantity every time.
Segment aggressively. Your most engaged subscribers should get your best content most frequently. Less engaged segments should get fewer emails with your absolute best content. This maintains good engagement metrics while giving less active subscribers a chance to re-engage.
Protect your forms at the source so bad data never reaches your list:
- Use a WAF or managed challenge to block bots
- Rate limit by IP and globally to stop floods of signups
- Add honeypot fields and make common forms multi‑step
- Speed limit submissions. Sub‑second form submits are often bots
- Sanitize personalization fields until the user is verified
- Consider services like StopForumSpam to block known abusers
- Keep expectations clear on every form and only send what was promised
These practices align with the Bento Deliverability Letter. Bento customers also have access to a Spam API that monitors new signups and can proactively unsubscribe obvious spam signups (Bento Deliverability Letter).
Sending Pattern Issues
ISPs are paranoid about sudden changes. They've learned that spammers love to blast millions of emails at once, while legitimate senders are consistent.
Imagine you normally send 1,000 emails every Tuesday. Then Black Friday comes, and you decide to send 50,000 emails all at once. To an ISP, this looks exactly like a compromised account or a spammer ramping up. They'll throttle your delivery or send everything to spam.
Inconsistent sending is just as bad. If you send daily for a month, then nothing for two weeks, then blast everyone again, ISPs get confused. They don't know what to expect from you, so they err on the side of caution.
How to maintain healthy sending patterns:
Consistency is everything. Pick a schedule and stick to it. Whether it's daily, weekly, or monthly, be predictable. Your subscribers and ISPs will both appreciate it.
When you need to increase volume (like for a product launch or holiday sale), ramp up gradually. If you normally send 5,000 emails, don't jump straight to 50,000. Increase by 50% each day until you reach your target volume. This gives ISPs time to adjust to your new pattern.
Batch your sends throughout the day instead of blasting everyone at once. Send to your most engaged subscribers first. They'll open and click, sending positive signals to ISPs. Then send to less engaged segments. This natural spreading helps avoid triggering volume-based spam filters.
If you're starting with a new domain or IP address, warming up is critical. Start with your absolute best subscribers, just 50-100 emails on day one. Double the volume every 2-3 days, watching your metrics carefully. If you see high bounces or complaints, slow down. The warm-up process typically takes 4-6 weeks for a new domain.
Pay attention to time zones and sending times. Sending all your emails at 3 AM looks suspicious. Spread sends across normal business hours for your recipients' time zones.
Spam Traps and Honeypots
Before we talk about blacklists, you need to understand spam traps. They're the hidden land mines that can destroy your reputation instantly.
Spam traps are email addresses used to catch spammers. They look like normal email addresses, but they're monitored by ISPs and blacklist operators. Send to one, and you're immediately flagged as a spammer.
There are three types of spam traps:
Pristine spam traps are email addresses that never belonged to a real person. They were created specifically to catch spammers. The only way to get these addresses is by scraping websites or buying lists. Hit one of these, and ISPs know you're not following best practices.
Recycled spam traps are old email addresses that were abandoned and then repurposed as traps. Maybe someone left a job and their email was deactivated. After bouncing for months, the ISP turns it into a trap. If you're still sending to it, you're not managing your list properly.
Typo spam traps catch common misspellings of popular domains. Think "gmial.com" instead of "gmail.com" or "yaho.com" instead of "yahoo.com." These catch both purchased lists and poor data collection practices.
How to avoid spam traps:
Never buy email lists. This is the number one way people hit spam traps. Even "verified" or "opted-in" purchased lists contain traps.
Use double opt-in for all signups. This prevents typos and ensures the email address is real and accessible.
Clean your list regularly. Remove addresses that haven't engaged in 6-12 months. Remove hard bounces immediately. The longer you keep sending to dead addresses, the more likely they'll turn into recycled traps.
Use email validation at signup to catch typos. Real-time validation can spot common misspellings before they enter your list.
Monitor your sending carefully. If you suddenly see a spike in bounces or a drop in engagement, stop sending and investigate. You might have picked up a bad list segment.
Blacklist Issues
Ending up on a blacklist is like being banned from every store in town at once. Your emails won't just go to spam, they might disappear entirely.
There are hundreds of blacklists out there. Some matter more than others. Spamhaus, SURBL, and Barracuda are the big ones that major ISPs check. Getting on these lists will destroy your deliverability overnight.
Blacklisting usually happens for serious violations: sending to purchased lists, getting tons of spam complaints, or having your account compromised and used to send actual spam. Sometimes you get blacklisted through no fault of your own because you share an IP address with bad actors.
How blacklists work:
Blacklist operators monitor the internet for spam activity. They use honey pots (email addresses that should never receive email), track complaint rates, and monitor for suspicious sending patterns. When they detect spam behavior, they add the sending IP or domain to their blacklist.
ISPs regularly check these blacklists. If your IP or domain appears, your emails get blocked or sent straight to spam. Some ISPs reject blacklisted emails entirely. Others add it as one negative signal among many.
How to get off blacklists:
First, figure out which lists you're on. Use MXToolbox's blacklist checker to scan major lists. Check both your domain and your sending IP addresses.
Next, fix the problem that got you blacklisted. If you were sending to a bad list, stop immediately and clean your entire list. If you had high complaint rates, figure out why and fix your content or targeting. If your account was compromised, secure it and change all passwords.
Then request removal from each blacklist. Every list has its own process. Some have online forms. Others require email requests with specific information. Be honest about what happened and what you've done to fix it. Trying to hide the problem or blame others won't work.
Most blacklists will remove you once if you fix the underlying issue. Get listed again, and removal becomes much harder or impossible. Some lists have automatic expiration after 24-48 hours if no new spam is detected. Others require manual review that can take weeks.
If you're on a shared IP that keeps getting blacklisted because of other senders, consider moving to a dedicated IP or switching email service providers.
ISP-Specific Requirements (2024 Update)
Each major ISP has its own quirks and requirements. What works for Gmail might fail at Yahoo. Here's what you need to know about each one:
Gmail Requirements
Gmail is the strictest major provider. As of February 2024, they require:
- Authentication is mandatory. You must have SPF and DKIM. No exceptions.
- DMARC for bulk senders. If you send over 5,000 emails per day to Gmail, you need a DMARC policy.
- One-click unsubscribe. Bulk emails must include List-Unsubscribe headers that work with one click.
- Spam rate under 0.3%. If more than 3 in 1,000 recipients mark you as spam, you're in trouble.
Gmail also uses engagement heavily in filtering decisions. They track whether people open, click, reply, forward, or add you to contacts. Low engagement emails gradually get filtered to spam, even with perfect authentication.
Yahoo/AOL Requirements
Yahoo matches Gmail's requirements almost exactly:
- SPF and DKIM required for all senders
- DMARC required for bulk senders (5,000+ emails/day)
- One-click unsubscribe for marketing emails
- Spam complaint rate must stay below 0.3%
Yahoo is particularly sensitive to sudden volume changes. They'll throttle or block you faster than Gmail if you spike your sending volume.
Microsoft (Outlook/Hotmail) Requirements
Microsoft uses a different approach called SmartScreen. They're less transparent about requirements but focus heavily on:
- Sender reputation. They track your entire sending history more aggressively than others.
- Content filtering. More likely to filter based on content alone, even with good reputation.
- Engagement tracking. They watch if recipients move emails from spam to inbox (good) or inbox to spam (bad).
Microsoft also maintains an internal reputation system that's separate from your domain reputation. Building a good reputation with Microsoft takes longer than with other providers.
Apple Mail Considerations
Apple Mail uses a combination of approaches:
- Relies heavily on SpamAssassin for content filtering
- Checks authentication but isn't as strict as Gmail
- Uses machine learning to personalize filtering per user
- Mail Privacy Protection affects open tracking (not deliverability, but affects metrics)
Apple users can train their personal filters by marking emails as junk or not junk. This means deliverability can vary wildly between Apple Mail users even with the same sending reputation.
How to Fix Spam Issues: A Step-by-Step Approach
Fixing deliverability isn't about one magic solution. You need to address every weak point systematically. Here's exactly how to do it:
Step 1: Run a full diagnostic first
Before changing anything, figure out what's actually wrong. Send a test email to Mail-Tester.com. It'll give you a spam score and tell you exactly what issues to fix. Check your domain on MXToolbox's blacklist checker. Look up your domain reputation on Google Postmaster Tools.
This diagnostic takes 10 minutes and saves hours of guesswork.
Step 2: Fix authentication immediately
If your authentication is broken, nothing else matters. Check your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records using MXToolbox. Your email service provider should have guides for setting these up correctly. Don't guess at the configuration. One character wrong and authentication fails.
Most deliverability problems I see come down to broken authentication. Fix this first.
Step 3: Clean your list ruthlessly
Export your list and run it through an email validation service. Remove every invalid address and all hard bounces. Build a zero‑engagement segment based on your last 8 to 12 sends, or the last 60 to 90 days depending on cadence. Send a short re‑engagement series. If there is still no open or click, suppress the contact. Going forward, enable confirmed opt‑in on high‑risk forms to keep future signups clean (Bento Deliverability Letter).
Yes, your list will shrink. That's good. A list of 10,000 engaged subscribers beats 100,000 dead addresses every time.
Step 4: Fix your content
Rewrite your emails to sound like a human wrote them. Remove spam trigger words. Fix your HTML. Test every email through a spam checker before sending. Make sure your text-to-image ratio is at least 60/40.
Step 5: Rebuild your reputation slowly
Start by sending only to your most engaged subscribers. These are people who've opened and clicked recently. Send them your best content. As engagement improves, gradually expand to less engaged segments.
If you're starting fresh, warm up properly. Day 1: 50 emails. Day 3: 100 emails. Day 5: 200 emails. Double every few days until you reach normal volume. This typically takes 4-6 weeks.
Step 6: Monitor everything
Set up weekly checks of your domain reputation, blacklist status, and authentication records. Watch your bounce rates, complaint rates, and engagement metrics after every send. The moment something looks wrong, investigate.
Deliverability isn't a set-it-and-forget-it thing. It needs constant attention.
Testing Email Deliverability
You can't fix what you don't measure. Here are the essential tools for testing and monitoring deliverability:
Spam score checkers:
AboutMy.email is my preferred choice. It allows you to email an address and get back a full technical report that tells you exactly what is wrong with your setup.
Mail-Tester (mail-tester.com) gives you a quick spam score out of 10. Send a test email to the address they provide, and you'll get instant feedback on authentication, blacklists, and content issues. It's free for a few tests per day.
GlockApps goes deeper. It shows you exactly where your emails land (inbox, spam, or blocked) across different providers. You can see if you're reaching Gmail but getting blocked by Outlook. Paid tool, but worth it for serious senders.
Litmus is primarily for email design testing, but includes spam testing. Great if you're already using it for rendering tests.
Authentication checkers:
MXToolbox is the Swiss Army knife of email authentication. Their SuperTool checks SPF, DKIM, DMARC, blacklists, and more. Bookmark this one.
Google Admin Toolbox shows you exactly how Google sees your authentication. Send a test email to a Gmail account, check the headers, and paste them into the toolbox.
Reputation monitoring:
Google Postmaster Tools is essential if you send to Gmail addresses. It shows your domain reputation, IP reputation, authentication success rate, and spam rate. If Gmail users are marking you as spam, you'll see it here.
Microsoft SNDS (Smart Network Data Services) is the equivalent for Outlook/Hotmail. It shows complaint rates and data volumes for your IPs.
SenderScore by Validity gives your IP a reputation score from 0-100. Anything below 70 means you have problems.
Testing best practices:
Test before every major campaign, not just when you have problems. Set up seed lists with addresses across major providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, AOL). Send to these seeds before your main campaign to spot issues early.
Don't just test once and assume you're good. Deliverability changes constantly. What worked last month might fail today.
Where Bento Fits: Deliverability Infrastructure Included
If you're tired of fighting spam filters, here's how Bento handles deliverability differently.
Most email services give you the tools and wish you luck. They'll let you send emails, but deliverability is your problem. When emails go to spam, they point you to documentation and tell you to figure it out yourself.
Bento includes managed deliverability from day one. Not as an add-on or premium feature, but built into every account.
Authentication that actually works. Bento walks you through SPF/DKIM/DMARC setup step-by-step. We check your configuration and tell you if something's wrong before you send a single email. No guessing if you did it right.
Reputation monitoring built in. We track your domain reputation, IP reputation, complaint rates, and engagement metrics. If something starts going wrong, we alert you before it becomes a crisis. You don't need separate tools to monitor reputation.
Smart sending patterns. Bento automatically batches large sends over time. Instead of blasting 50,000 emails at once (which screams "spam" to ISPs), we spread them naturally throughout the day. Your most engaged subscribers get emails first, building positive signals before we send to less engaged segments.
List hygiene automation. We handle bounces immediately, flag invalid addresses, and help you identify unengaged subscribers. The tools to maintain a clean list are built in, not bolted on.
When Bento makes sense:
You want to focus on your business, not become a deliverability expert. You're sending important emails (transactional, marketing, or both) and need them to reach inboxes. You want infrastructure that prevents problems instead of just alerting you after things go wrong.
When specialized tools might be better:
If you need forensic-level deliverability analysis, tools like GlockApps go deeper. If you're managing multiple domains or IPs across different providers, dedicated monitoring tools give you that consolidated view. If you're sending millions of emails daily, you might need custom infrastructure.
The honest take:
Bento won't magically fix a destroyed sender reputation or get you off every blacklist. But we give you the infrastructure to avoid those problems in the first place. Think of us as guardrails that keep you on the road to good deliverability.
Ready to Fix Your Inbox Placement?
Getting out of spam isn't complicated once you understand what's wrong. Most deliverability problems come down to the same handful of issues.
Start with authentication. If your SPF, DKIM, or DMARC is broken, fix that today. Use MXToolbox to verify everything's working. This alone solves a surprising number of deliverability problems.
Check your reputation next. Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS will show you exactly where you stand. If your reputation is bad, you know you need to focus on engagement and list quality.
Clean your list immediately. Every invalid email address and unengaged subscriber hurts your reputation. Run your list through validation and remove anyone who hasn't engaged in 90 days. Your list will shrink, but your deliverability will improve.
Fix obvious content issues. Run a test email through Mail-Tester to catch spam triggers. Remove suspicious words, balance your text and images, and make sure your HTML is clean.
Then rebuild slowly. If your reputation is damaged, you can't fix it overnight. Send to your best subscribers first. Get some wins with good engagement. Gradually expand to larger segments as your metrics improve.
Remember: Inbox placement is earned, not guaranteed.
ISPs don't owe you inbox delivery. They protect their users from unwanted email, and they're good at it. Your job is to prove you're sending wanted email to people who asked for it.
Do that consistently, and you'll stay out of spam.
Next steps: Learn about specific email deliverability tools that can help monitor and improve your sender reputation. Check out our guide on how to check domain reputation for detailed reputation monitoring. For authentication setup, see our best DMARC tools guide.