There are new standards to know about if you want to keep delivering emails to inboxes in 2024.
Gmail and Yahoo! are all the focus, especially for companies that send mass emails. The two giants have a twofold objective: greater security and less spam. Discover the new standards rolling out soon.
What to do after the Gmail and Yahoo! updates
Google and Yahoo! are introducing new email authentication requirements for senders since February 2024.
Here are the 3 checkpoints for complying with both updates:
Overall, the Gmail and Yahoo! updates require you to
- Authenticate your sending domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- Enable quick unsubscribe directly in the webmail (List Unsubscribe OneClick)
- Have a low spam rate (under 0.3%)
Vocabulary check Authenticate means that you have proven to the email service provider that the email’s origin can be verified. This means that an email sender is who they claim to be, and that the content of the message has not been tampered with. |
Immediate consequences of the two updates
These updates may block messages or send them directly to the spam folder if senders fail to comply with email authentication requirements.
Who is affected?
These updates will affect any sender sending more than 5,000 messages per day.
What to do in a few words
Senders must comply with 3 checkpoints, as detailed below.
The new rules for sending emails on Gmail and Yahoo!
Authenticate the domain name used in your campaigns
There are 3 authentication methods you can use to prove that you are the sender of your emails:- SPF : Sender Policy Framework
- DKIM : DomainKeys Identified Mail
- DMARC : Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance
One-click unsubscribe
Making it easy to unsubscribe was already a best practice. Now, Gmail and Yahoo! are reinforcing it by penalizing lengthy unsubscription processes.
Both email providers require a one-click unsubscribe.
The unsubscribe method is called “One-Click List-Unsubscribe” in both Gmail and Yahoo! documentations, and widely used across the industry.
The mailto List-Unsubscribe method, i.e. sending an email to the router to declare your unsubscription, is no longer sufficient, and should be backed by a one-click unsubscribe method.
To help reduce your complaint rate, don’t forget to automatically unsubscribe contacts who repeatedly bounce back.
Keeping your spam rate under control
The spam threshold is now lower with both updates
The spam threshold is now set at 0.3%.
If your spam rate exceeds 0.3%, you will be blocked. To prevent a deliverability incident:
- Keep your complaint rate at around 0.1%.
- Monitor your complaint rate using Postmaster Tools.
Keeping your spam rate low allows you to be more stable and reduce the impact of occasional deliverability incidents.
Obviously, one of the main guidelines is to send emails to contacts who have explicitly requested it, in compliance with consent collection regulations introduced by the GDPR.
Not only is this rule a legal obligation, it also has other benefits. It allows you to be easily identified by your contacts and to send them subjects that interest them.
Beware of inactive contacts also, as they can be a risk to long-term deliverability, especially on Gmail. As a reminder, SpamTraps can hide in your inactive contacts older than 12 months.
SpamTrap: What addresses are dangerous for your email deliverability?
Track your email deliverability with Google Postmaster Tools
To track your complaint rate for Gmail email addresses specifically, users are often advised to sign up for Google Postmaster Tools (GPT).
However, Mindbaz customers are not required to register for GPT: The Mindbaz deliverability team keeps track of statistics and hazards in the Google tool. In the event of an incident, our deliverability experts contact the sender to provide support.
Best practices for keeping your complaint rate under control
To reduce your complaint rate, make sure you follow the best practices from email providers:
- Follow the rules of your sender name (also called Display Name)
- Find the best advertising pressure for your audience
- Segment your database
- Send targeted campaigns to fewer contacts
Bruno, our email deliverability expert, tells you about his techniques to reduce the unsubscribe rate in your email campaigns in our article
With these best practices, you’ll have every chance of sending your email campaigns directly to your inbox, even with Google and Yahoo! updates.
To find out more about how to improve your email deliverability, check out our resources:
Blog : Email and Deliverability Update
Podcast : +50 episodes to listen and boost your campaign (content in french or spanish)
Case studies: How our customers work on email deliverability
Email and deliverability glossary
Fuentes :