Why are my emails going to spam?
Authentication and reputation
Receivers check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. If any fail or are missing, your mail is much more likely to be filtered. Start by sending a test to a Gmail account and viewing the original message headers.
Domain reputation matters too. New domains, domains with no sending history, and domains previously used for spam are treated with suspicion.
If you send bulk mail, use a dedicated subdomain and warm it up gradually rather than blasting from day one.
Content, lists, and engagement
Spam filters look at content: too many links, image-only emails, spammy phrases, and mismatched From and Reply-To addresses all hurt.
Sending to people who did not opt in, or who marked you as spam before, damages your reputation quickly. Remove hard bounces and unengaged addresses.
Engagement signals — opens, replies, and moves out of spam — help. Ask known contacts to reply or mark your mail as not spam during early sending.
- Check headers for SPF/DKIM/DMARC pass
- Send from a consistent From domain
- Avoid link shorteners and too many links
- Include a plain-text version
- Honor unsubscribe requests promptly
- Warm up new sending domains slowly
Common mistakes
- Assuming a single fix solves everything — authentication, reputation, content, and list quality all matter.
- Using a free email address in the From field while sending through a different domain, which breaks alignment.
- Ignoring DMARC reports, which often reveal exactly which sending sources are failing.
