Are your email campaigns safe from these upcoming search engine spam “red flags,” or is it time to take a closer look at your strategy in 2024?
Starting in February, Google and Yahoo will begin enforcing tougher anti-spam restrictions on addresses sending 5,000 or more marketing emails per day.
Even if you don’t currently send that many emails, the restrictions will gradually extend to a wider audience after their initial rollout. A.K.A. — your business will be impacted sooner than later.
So, to help increase deliverability rates for your existing emails and prepare you for future changes, we recommend adhering to guidelines in the following core areas:
Authentication
- Why it matters: DNS-based email authentication rules, such as DKIM, SPF and DMARC, which were “nice to haves” until now, will soon be mandatory. If you use an email marketing provider like HubSpot or Mailchimp, they typically include DKIM setup as part of the authentication
process, but SPF and DMARC may not be fully functional or align with best practices. - What to do: Check with your IT provider to make sure these DNS records are operating correctly, and emails are properly authenticated.
Reducing Spam
- Why it matters: Senders with a spam complaint rate above 0.3% will have a harder time getting emails delivered to Google and Yahoo email users.
- What to do: To monitor your domain’s spam rate, you (or your IT provider) can sign up for Google Postmaster Tools.
Easy Unsubscribe
- Why it matters: Your marketing emails must include a one-click unsubscribe link and unsubscribe requests must be honored within two days.
- What to do: If you’re using an email marketing platform, this is likely already set up for you, but double-check to make sure your newsletters, eblasts and sales sequences include the unsubscribe link.
Have questions? As a certified HubSpot Solutions Partner, Aker Ink can answer them.
Learn more about our inbound marketing services and how we can help you create a successful, spam-proof email strategy for your business in 2024.
