Have you been sending emails through Gmail, but they end up getting blocked? It’s frustrating, we know. And the worst part is that you don’t know why this happened. So to ask, “Why is Gmail blocking my emails and what to do about it?”
In this post, we’ll share some tips on how to know if Gmail is blocking your emails, the common reasons why Gmail is blocking your emails, and how to fix the problem so you can finally improve your email deliverability!
Let’s get started!
How to Know If Gmail Blocked You
On PC
If Gmail blocks you, it also affects the GTalk and GChat functions. This means the recipient or Gmail users will no longer receive your emails. Or they may do, but it gets straight into their spam folder.
To find out if you are blocked, login to your Gmail account using a laptop or a PC. You’ll see the Google Chat List of other Gmail users you’ve recently contacted on the left side. These recent messages also show by default.
So, go through the list and see the name of the person you believe has blocked you. If their name no longer appears, it means you’re blocked.
On Mobile
Google Hangouts often auto-list Gmail contacts; you’ll see them as you tap on the contacts on the app. Here, you’ll also see whether the person is online or offline.
So, if a Gmail user was previously on your Hangout list but no longer appears, they have blocked you.
Why Is Gmail Blocking My Emails? [10 Reasons Why]
1. Spammy-Looking Content
One of the main reasons why Gmail filters your emails is that it has spammy-looking content.
Gmail recognizes spam at first sight for several reasons. These reasons could be because you type the subject lines in ALL CAPS or the content contains too much bold text and large font sizes.
It could also be because it contains a misspelled subject, the email address in the “From” field is unknown, or it contains pure sales or promotional content.
Moreover, have you considered the links included in your emails? Most marketing emails contain links in the body of the email to drive traffic to a landing page, a blog, or a website.
However, just because the links are from your domain doesn’t mean Gmail will not mark it as suspicious.
Remember that links in the email body can cause email blocking. Gmail may mark it as spam because it believes it contains viruses or malware.
Read also: Why Are My Emails Going to Spam How to Avoid the Spam Folder
2. A Sudden Change in Your Email Volume
Another reason Gmail blocked your emails could be that your volume has suddenly increased.
So, anytime your email volume increases dramatically, you appear like a spammer, and Gmail will treat your emails as such.
If you encounter this problem, you may have already received a message saying your email quota exceeded or that “Mail Relay Denied” error message.
Remember that many emails to your recipient’s email address also require high scrutiny. Therefore, if you have to increase your typical email cycle, we suggest you do it gradually. Also, distribute the new emails for a particular time rather than all at once.
That way, spam filters will not detect you for having an erratic or inconsistent sending volume. There will also be no unusual sending rate of unsolicited mail originating from your IP address.
So, we encourage you to read Google’s Bulk Sender Guidelines or create a warm-up schedule to send mail from a new IP address to avoid delivery issues.
3. Low Sender Score
An Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns organizations that send an email a specific score called an email sender reputation.
The sender score is a crucial factor in your email deliverability. So, if you have a high sender score, it is more likely that an ISP will deliver your email to the inboxes of your target audience (Gmail users) on their network.
However, if you have a low sender score, the ISP may send that message to the spam folder or outright reject it.
Moreover, various factors go into determining your email sender’s reputation. This includes:
- The number of emails you are sending as an organization
- The number of recipients that have marked your email as spam
- The number of your emails that bounced (because they were sent for other reasons or to unknown Gmail users)
- The number of recipients that open, forward, reply to, or delete your messages, and
- The number of people who unsubscribed from your email list
4. Your Server’s IP Address is on an IP Suspended List
Another common reason why Gmail is blocking your emails is that you are sending from an IP address that is a public blacklist.
It’s easy to get this error if you send an email using a shared IP address with a poor reputation. Once the IP address or domain is on an IP suspended list or blacklist, you will see a surge in hard bounces and spam complaints.
As a result, all these will affect your brand reputation and open rates.
One way to improve your server’s IP address reputation is to separate your business transaction email server and your marketing mail server since the two serve different purposes. Your marketing department is also likely sending a higher volume of emails compared to the workforce members.
Therefore, it is best to separate these two mail servers. Emails of the same category should come from the same email address in the “From” header.
5. Repeatedly Sending Emails to Invalid Email Addresses
Repeatedly sending too many emails to invalid addresses leads to email deliverability issues, and Gmail may consider you a spammer. Therefore, you must observe email list hygiene.
In addition, you should verify your email list now and then. So, check for undeliverable, invalid email addresses before sending your email campaign.
Once the email is sent, you can use a bounce handler to check your mailbox for bounced emails. And if there are any, remove these bounces from your email list.
Lastly, familiarize yourself with Bulk Email Guidelines and manage unsubscribe requests.
6. High Spam Complaints
There is no denying that spam complaints hurt your sender’s reputation score. Consequently, this affects your email deliverability.
However, don’t panic if someone flagged your email as spam. You’re not the only email marketing company that experienced this. This also indicates that not everything is fine in your email campaign.
You may also use email deliverability tools, such as InboxAlly, to successfully land in your subscribers’ inboxes and improve your open rates.
7. Sending Emails to Uninterested Customers
As you review your content, ask yourself, “What’s in it for them?” This means you should look at your email from the perspective of your recipients or subscribers — not your own.
Once they receive it, will it teach them something new? Are your subscribers looking forward to receiving your message? Does the content make their life easier? Or if spam complaints have recently increased, has the value or quality of your content slipped?
You see, there are just too many factors to consider. To know that your content is something your audience wants, find a friend within your target market. Then, show them your email and ask them if it is something they would like to read or receive.
8. Incorrect DNS Settings
The Domain Name System (DNS) is a protocol for exchanging information on the Internet. When you want to visit a website, you turn on your device, open the web browser, and key in the domain name that you want to see.
The DNS will then translate that into an IP address, a series of numbers determining the resources connected to the internet.
Email service providers match a domain name. It’s what follows after the “@.” The mail server uses DNS to match the address to its destination and eventually deliver the email.
If Gmail blocks your emails, but you have a good reputation or content, your DNS settings could be the cause.
Lastly, Gmail expects your email to have these DNS records: DMARC, DKIM, and SPF.
9. High Bounce Rates
Another answer to your question, “Why is Gmail blocking my emails?” is that you have high bounce rates.
This reason refers to the percentage of email addresses (of Gmail users) in your subscriber list that did not receive your mail message as their mail servers returned it.
Generally, if you have an above 2% bounce rate, Gmail may block your emails and mark you as a spammer.
It’s also normal for Gmail because they want to protect their customers. Two primary reasons behind a high email bounce rate are 1) invalid email addresses and 2) the domain does not exist.
10. Not Following Gmail’s Best Practices
Gmail blocks emails that do not follow their best practices. For instance, the sending IP address that you’re using does not have a Pointer (PTR) record or Reverse DNS record.
You may also have a low domain reputation that convinced Google tools to block your IP address.
So, before sending mail, check out Gmail’s Postmaster Tools to see its metrics on spam rate, feedback loop, reputation, and other parameters. Doing so will help you know if you follow Gmail’s best practices and fix spam filter issues.
5 Steps on How to Prevent Emails from Going to Spam Folder
1. Ask Gmail Users or Recipients to Add Your Domain Name
Emails can be rejected if the sending server’s IP address is not on the recipient’s allowed list. To fix the blocking problem, you can request your subscribers to whitelist you from the beginning of your email campaign.
2. Run a Spam Filtering and an Inbox Placement Test
Running a spam filter and an inbox placement test before sending your email marketing campaign is the easiest way to know how your email is treated. Doing so also prevents it from going to the spam folder.
This step lets you see how the message is delivered to internet providers, including Gmail.
3. Validate All Email Addresses
One of the most dependable ways to fix Gmail blocking problems is to verify the email addresses within your email list. So, verify whether these emails are valid before adding them to your list to prevent a hard email bounce rate.
4. Set Up a Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
A Sender Policy Framework or SPF is an email authentication mechanism that prevents email spoofing. If you set up an SPF record, you can find the IP addresses authorized to send emails on behalf of your (sending) domain.
5. Send Emails in a Consistent Volume
This step doesn’t mean you won’t grow your email list. What we mean is you avoid sending all your messages at once. So, spread your emails once a week or during the start of each month.
Wrap Up
Gmail is a popular free web-based email service for private and commercial use. To stop spam and phishing emails, it has implemented strict security measures.
However, the same security features may be why email marketers and businesses have difficulty reaching their subscribers’ inboxes.
The general rule is to ensure your content is relevant to your recipients, use an email service provider with a good reputation, and follow Gmail’s best practices. Doing so also saves you from Gmail blocking issues.
We hope you find these tips helpful so you can finally deliver emails to your Gmail subscribers.