How to Improve Gmail Deliverability in 5 Steps

Email marketing and cold emailing remain a cornerstone of digital strategy for businesses aiming to expand their reach and cultivate meaningful connections with their audience: 77% of B2B buyers prefer to be sold to via email.

With Gmail's massive user base, anyone sending out emails must master the art of deliverability within this platform.

The strict filters employed by Gmail to combat spam can inadvertently catch legitimate marketing or sales emails, leading to lower open rates and potential lost opportunities.

To navigate this, it's essential to understand the inner workings of Gmail's filtering process.

This blog post will outline five critical steps to markedly improve your emails' chances of landing in the intended inbox, ensuring your messages resonate with your audience and nurture lasting customer relationships.

Let's get started.

Consistently refining your email list is a critical component for improving your Gmail deliverability.

A clean list ensures you're reaching genuine, engaged subscribers who are less likely to flag your content as spam. Use advanced email validation tools to cleanse your list of any invalid or dormant addresses.

This proactive approach not only diminishes your bounce rate but also bolsters open and click-through rates, reinforcing the rapport with your audience.

And what happens when your engagement metrics improve?

Gmail is more likely to regard your emails favorably, potentially boosting your overall deliverability rate.

Proactively safeguard your communication by adopting robust email authentication standards such as DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), SPF (Sender Policy Framework), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance).

DKIM, SPF, and DMARC are becoming increasingly important for businesses to ensure the security and integrity of their email communications.

These protocols help prevent unauthorized use of your domain name for sending malicious emails or spoofing legitimate ones.

DKIM adds a digital signature to outgoing messages, allowing receivers to verify that the message was sent from an authorized source. This is achieved using a private key to create the signature and a public key to verify it.

SPF, on the other hand, specifies which servers are authorized to send emails from your domain. This helps prevent spammers from impersonating your domain and sending fraudulent messages. SPF can be set up by creating a DNS record that lists all authorized senders for your domain.

DMARC builds upon DKIM and SPF to provide an additional layer of protection. It allows you to specify what action should be taken if a message fails the authentication process, such as rejecting or quarantining the email.

It's essential to be mindful of language that can land your emails in the spam folder, known as spam-trigger words.

Advanced email algorithms, such as those utilized by Gmail, scan for specific terms frequently associated with unsolicited content.

Be careful to avoid phrases such as: 'Exclusive Deal,' 'Risk-Free,' or 'Instant Savings.' Instead, craft your cold email messaging to captivate your audience with compelling subject lines and innovative email content that resonate with them without tripping spam detectors.

To improve the effectiveness of your cold emailing, it's crucial to maintain a balanced sending schedule.

An ideal sales cadence can positively influence your deliverability rates, mainly as email service providers like Gmail monitor the frequency and engagement levels of your inbox.

Sending too many emails or at unpredictable intervals can trigger spam filters, whereas a predictable and regular email schedule is often rewarded by algorithms, boosting the chances that your emails will reach their intended inboxes.

Careful planning and analysis of subscriber interactions can help you determine the most receptive times for engagement, ensuring your messages are both anticipated and welcomed.

Cold email warm up refers to the process of gradually introducing your email address to Gmail's algorithm by sending small batches of emails at first and then increasing the volume and frequency over time.

This helps establish a positive sending reputation with Gmail, allowing your emails to reach the primary inbox instead of being marked as spam.

Otherwise, Gmail's algorithm views your sudden upsurge of cold emails as spammy behavior, which impacts your deliverability.

Warming up your cold emails is important for several reasons. Firstly, it helps you to build authority with Gmail's algorithm by showing that you are a legitimate sender and not a spammer.

This ensures your emails have a better chance of reaching the primary inbox, and it allows you to test and refine your email content and subject lines before sending them out in bulk, improving your chances of success.

Begin by sending emails to a smaller group of subscribers before the main campaign. Gradually, increase the volume, frequency, and number of targets, which establishes your sending reputation with Gmail.

A tool that can help you warm-up your email automatically and forget about manually seeding is Unfiltered.ai. Check it out!

The journey to impeccable Gmail deliverability is an ongoing process, demanding consistent attention and tactical adjustments.

Remember that selling thrives on relationship-building: prioritize your prospects' needs and preferences to cultivate trust and loyalty, leading to sustained business growth and a robust brand reputation. Embrace these tips, and watch your email engagement metrics soar to new heights.

And if you're looking for SDRs that know the ins and outs of email deliverability like the back of their hands, make sure to get in touch with our team at SalesPipe!