If emails you send are ending up in people’s spam folders, it’s usually down to one of a few things. Work through this page to find out which, and how to fix it.
First: is it your test email?
A quick email with the subject ‘test’ and nothing in the message is very likely to go to spam, however well your email is set up. Before anything else, try a realistic test – see how to send a test email properly.
Check your domain’s email records
Receiving email providers check three records on your domain to confirm an email really came from you. Missing or incorrect records are one of the most common reasons for genuine email going to spam.
| Record | What it does |
|---|---|
| SPF | Lists the servers allowed to send email for your domain |
| DKIM | Adds a digital signature to your emails, proving they weren’t changed on the way |
| DMARC | Tells receiving providers what to do with email that fails SPF or DKIM checks, and can send you reports |
- If your domain uses our nameservers and your email is with us, SPF, DKIM and a basic DMARC record are all added for you automatically with your hosting. There’s nothing to set up – see how to turn on DKIM email authentication for your domain.
- If your DNS is managed elsewhere, the records need adding there. Your Enhance panel shows the DKIM record to add, and we can give you the exact SPF and DMARC records – just ask.
- If you also send email through another service, such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace or an email marketing tool, your SPF record needs to include it too.
Large providers such as Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo now expect senders to have SPF, DKIM and DMARC in place. If you’re not sure whether yours are set up correctly, open a support ticket and we’ll check them for you.
Even with all three records in place, the content of an email still matters – see the next section.
Check what’s in your emails
Spam filters also look at the email itself. Things that can count against you include:
- an empty message, or a one-word subject
- an email that’s just a single image, with little or no text
- LOTS OF CAPITAL LETTERS, or lots of exclamation marks!!!
- shortened links (such as bit.ly), or links where the text and the real address don’t match
- large or unusual attachments, such as .zip or .exe files
- words often used in spam, such as “free money”, “act now” or “winner”
Sending to lots of people
Sending the same email to many people at once – for example a newsletter – from your normal mailbox is likely to be treated as spam, and can affect your other emails too. Use an email marketing service designed for it, and make sure everyone has agreed to receive your emails.
Ask your recipients to help
If someone finds your email in their spam folder, ask them to mark it as Not spam and add you to their contacts. Their email provider learns from this, and future emails are more likely to reach their inbox.
Still going to spam?
Please open a support ticket and include:
- the email address you’re sending from
- who you sent it to, or which provider (for example Gmail or Outlook)
- roughly when you sent it
- if possible, the full headers of the email that went to spam – the recipient can usually find these with an option such as Show original or View message source
For emails you’re not receiving, see our email troubleshooting guide, and for incoming spam, see how to manage spam filtering for your email.
