Do Your Emails End up Spam?
From February They Are More Likely to Skip the Inbox.
About half of the email traffic worldwide is unwanted – spam and phishing attempts. In an effort to enhance email security, prevent spam and phishing attacks, Gmail and Yahoo rolled out a significant anti-spam update on February 1st, 2024.
While this sounds like great news, it might mean that your emails are no longer being delivered to the inbox because your emails and newsletters might not comply with some of the tightened rules.
Key Features of the Anti-Spam Update
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Advanced Machine Learning Algorithms:
Gmail’s anti-spam update leverages cutting-edge machine learning algorithms to better understand and identify the characteristics of spam emails. By continuously learning from user interactions and feedback, these algorithms become increasingly adept at distinguishing between legitimate and spam messages. This ensures a more accurate and efficient spam filter over time.
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Enhanced Phishing Detection:
Phishing attacks have become more sophisticated in recent years, often tricking users into divulging sensitive information by posing as trustworthy entities. The new update includes enhanced phishing detection mechanisms that analyze email content, sender behavior, and other contextual information to identify potential phishing attempts. This proactive approach adds an extra layer of security to protect users from falling victim to deceptive schemes.
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Real-time Threat Intelligence:
Gmail’s anti-spam update integrates real-time threat intelligence to stay ahead of emerging threats. By continuously monitoring global email traffic patterns and analyzing data from various sources, Gmail can quickly adapt its spam filters to counter new and evolving spam tactics. This dynamic response capability is crucial in the ever-changing landscape of cyber threats.
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User-Friendly Reporting:
To further empower users in the fight against spam, Gmail introduces an improved reporting system. Users can easily flag suspicious emails and provide feedback on potential false positives or negatives. This two-way communication helps Gmail refine its algorithms and filters, creating a collaborative approach to combating spam.
How Do I Comply With This Update?
- Authenticate your email domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: Without this, your email can be remotely spoofed (hacked). The ‘bad guys’ can send emails from your domain, posing to be you. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are security features that prevent this from happening. That’s why Google is requiring you to set them up. If you don’t, you’ll end up in spam.
- Create a one-click unsubscribe: Ever tried to hide your unsubscribe link or make people click several different links in hope that they’ll give up & stay on your list? You’re not allowed to do this anymore – you MUST provide a one-click unsubscribe. Usually this will happen automatically after you do the above step.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication technique that helps to prevent email spoofing. SPF allows a domain owner to specify which servers are authorized to send email on behalf of their domain.
When an email is received, the recipient’s email server can check the SPF record for the sender’s domain to verify that the email is actually from the sender who claims to have sent it.
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail)
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is another email authentication technique that helps to prevent email spoofing. DKIM allows a domain owner to digitally sign their emails.
When an email is received, the recipient’s email server can verify the DKIM signature to confirm that the email is actually from the sender who claims to have sent it.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication technique that builds on SPF and DKIM. DMARC allows a domain owner to specify their policy for how email that is not authenticated by SPF or DKIM should be handled.
By following the best practices for email deliverability, you can help to ensure that your emails are delivered to your recipients’ inboxes. Here are some tips for improving your email deliverability:
