Gmail recently updated their anti-spam policies to improve the inbox experience for its users. These policies, which were rolled out this February 2024, especially impacts high-volume senders (5,000 emails or more per day), and/or those doing cold email marketing.  

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If you are not following Gmail’s updated guidelines, you risk having your emails blocked and sent to the spam folder automatically. In this article, we’ll help you understand how to adhere to these guidelines and keep your emails from landing in spam.  

Gmail’s Anti-Spam Regulations:

Gmal’s changes are more than just regulations. They focus on improving the user experience by reducing unsolicited bulk emails that overload inboxes.  

As a sender, you have to prove that your email are legitimate, follow rules, and provide value to the recipients. The best (and only) way to bypass these increasingly strict spam filters is to follow Gmail’s policies. .

Here are the key new anti-spam requirements for all senders (regardless of quantity) that Google has implemented for Gmail:

• Implement SPF or DKIM authentication.
• Maintain valid DNS records (also referred to as PTR records).
• Transmit mail securely over TLS.
• Monitor spam rate in Gmail Postmaster Tools (below 0.10% and avoid reaching 0.30% or higher).
• Follow Internet Message Format standard (RFC 5322).
• Refrain from impersonating Gmail addresses.
• Add forwarding headers like ARC & List-ID (if regularly forwarding emails including mailing lists or inbound gateways).

Additional key requirements for high-volume senders (5,000 or more emails per day):

• Implement DMARC authentication. (Your DMARC enforcement policy can be set to none).
• For direct mail, align “From” domain with SPF/DKIM domain. (This is required to pass DMARC alignment).
• Marketing and opt-in messages must support one-click unsubscribe and include a visible unsubscribe link.

Pre-Launch Action Items Checklist:

For businesses to stay on top of the new Gmail policies, here’s a simplified checklist to reference from prior to launching cold email campaigns:

• Implement proper authentication protocols and email setups
• Monitor domain and email reputation metrics
• Updated and clean email lists
• Personalized message content
• Include an unsubscribe link
• Remove spam words

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Bonus tip: Consider using a reputable email warmup solution, like Mailivery, to help boost email deliverability. Don’t land in spam and make more sales through our warmup network of real, internal emails and Peer-2-Peer sending technology that work together to increase your reputation even further.

Staying Out of Spam in 2024

Gmail’s upgraded spam filters highlight the quality of subscriber experience over volumes or numbers. The key for 2024 is to craft email strategies with recipients’ needs at the forefront. Failure to align with the latest policies risks deliverability for your campaigns and growth. By adhering to their anti-spam regulations, you’ll be able to reliably reach inboxes rather than spam folders.  

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