Why Are My Emails Going to Spam? Common Causes & Fixes

💡 These reasons and tips will apply whether you’re just a solo person sending email from your personal account or you’re dealing with deliverability issues for your marketing emails or transactional website emails (like order confirmations).

Why are your emails going to spam? Most common reasons 🤔

According to Statista, around half of all emails are spam – the latest data says it’s 45% as of 2023. ¹

Needless to say, email spam is a big problem on the web, which is why email services have gotten more aggressive with combating it.

Most of the emails that get filtered to spam really are spam indeed. People would be annoyed if they had to manually filter through all of these emails, so internet service providers (ISPs) and email services (like Gmail) set up filters to automatically block spam emails before they appear in the inbox.

However, if you make some common mistakes, your legitimate emails could also get swept up in these efforts to combat spam.

In this first section, I’ll discuss some of the most common reasons why emails end up in spam. Then, in the next section, we’ll share some tips to make sure you avoid the spam folder.

Reason #1. You haven’t set up proper authentication

One of the biggest issues with email spam is lacking proper authentication.

Think of when people call you on the phone:

• If you see it’s someone from your contacts, you’ll pick right up because you know exactly who’s calling.
• If you see a random number, you might assume it’s another robocall and just ignore it.

It’s the same with emails. There are technologies that you can use to authenticate your emails which will automatically make you look more trustworthy in the eyes of spam filters. Instead of being a random number, you’ve proven who you are and that you actually control the domain name that you’re sending from.

The biggest tactics are:

• DKIM (DomainKey Identified Mail)
• SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
• DMARC – requires you to already be using DKIM and SPF

If you’re using a custom email address and you haven’t set up these authentication methods, that’s one of the biggest reasons why your emails are going to spam. Later in this post, we’ll show you what you need to do.

Reason #2. Your sender information is inaccurate or missing

In addition to lacking technical authentication tactics like DKIM and SPF, inaccurate sender information can also cause spam issues:

• Inaccurate From/Reply-To info – make sure the email address that you’re sending from matches the sender and your authentication information.
• Lack of physical address – the FTC requires that you add a physical address to your bulk emails. This is why you’ll typically see an address at the bottom of every marketing email. Miss that and your email is likely ending up in spam.

Reason #3. Your domain or IP is on a blacklist

If your emails keep landing in spam, there’s a chance your domain or IP address has been blacklisted. This happens when email providers flag your sender information as suspicious or harmful, often because of past behavior linked to spammy or near-spammy emails.

Now, you might be thinking, “I’m not a spammer. Why would I be blacklisted?” That’s a fair question. Sometimes, it’s not even your fault. If you’re using a shared email server (common with many hosting providers), someone else’s bad email habits could be affecting you. Other times, your domain might have been hacked, or you could be unknowingly sending emails that look like spam – maybe because of poorly formatted bulk emails or using words and links that trigger spam filters.

To check if you’re on a blacklist, you can use tools like MXToolbox. This tool is really easy to use, just put your domain in the box and see what comes up.

Okay, so what if you are on a blacklist? Well, there are guides on the web on how to get yourself removed from one, but in most cases I’d just change the email you’re sending from, really 🤷‍♂️. This is a drastic step, but also the only one that’s 100% proven to be effective.

Reason #4. You’re linking to shady websites or using misleading links

The main purpose of most spam emails is to get you to click on some type of link, so it’s no surprise that using the wrong types of links can get you in trouble when it comes to spam.

There are two main things that can cause issues here:

• First, you might be linking to a website that seems spammy for some reason. For example, maybe it’s associated with copyright infringement, has been infected with malware (use these check tools), or some other reason. Or, maybe it’s totally legit, but it’s very close to another domain that is spammy.
• Second, you can get in trouble if the destination URL doesn’t match with the display URL. For example, if the display URL is https://google.com but the actual link is https://anotherwebsite.com, that can get you into trouble because this is a common tactic that spammers use to trick people into clicking links.

Similarly, using URL shorteners can also cause issues for the same reason (you might be trying to trick people into clicking links they might not otherwise click on).

Reason #5. You’re using words or punctuation that are spam triggers

Put simply, there are just some words or punctuation patterns that seem spammy.

For example, “meet singles” or “online biz opportunity.” By themselves, these words might not be enough to land you in the spam filter. But they will attract attention and, when combined with some of the other issues on the list, can end up with your emails going to spam. Believe it or not, but even a seemingly harmless phrase like “money back guarantee” is a spam trigger. There are a lot more of those common words and expressions you should try to avoid.

Plus, you know…just common sense but avoid other tactics like:

• ALL CAPITALS
• Lots of exclamation marks!!!!!!
• An onslaught of emojis ❤✨🔥👍🥺 (a few emojis are ok – just don’t abuse them)

Similarly, using poor grammar or misspelling words can also trigger spam filters, as many spammers use machine translation to translate their spam emails into English.

Reason #6. You’re using a bad email list

If you’re sending bulk emails, the quality of your email list can make or break your deliverability. Here are some common red flags:

Sending without permission.

If you’re emailing people who never explicitly signed up, you’re asking for trouble. Buying lists, scraping emails from websites, or adding people without their consent may seem like a quick way to grow your audience, but it’s a guaranteed way to get flagged. When people get unexpected emails, they often mark them as spam.

Letting your list get stale

Even if your list was built the right way, it can still cause problems if it’s outdated. Over time, people change jobs, abandon email accounts, or simply stop checking certain inboxes. If you’re regularly sending emails to addresses that are no longer active, your messages will bounce. Too many bounces tell email providers that you’re not maintaining your list.

Low engagement looks suspicious

Engagement matters more than most people think. If a large percentage of your list never opens, clicks, or interacts with your emails, inbox providers take that as a red flag. They assume your emails aren’t valuable to recipients and might start filtering them out automatically. If enough people delete your emails without reading them, your sender reputation could take a hit.

Reason #7. You’re using too many images (or not enough text with images)

Images can also get you into trouble with spam filters.

There are two ways that this can happen:

First off, if you have a large image in your email and little to no text, that can trigger spam filters. This one ties to the “spam words” point from above. To avoid getting hit with spam filters for using spammy words, some spammers moved to including all of the text in a single image file, rather than as actual text.

Because of this, sending a single image looks suspicious to spam filters.

You can also run into problems in the other direction, though. If you use a lot of images and very little text, that can also get you into trouble.

Basically, using images as a replacement for text can get you into trouble, don’t do that!

Reason #8. You’re sending too many attachments

Attachments can make spam filters nervous, especially since they’re a common tool for spreading malware and phishing scams. The more attachments you include – or the riskier the file type – the higher the chance your email gets flagged.

Certain files, like .exe, .dat, and .zip, are particularly suspicious because they’re often used to spread harmful software. Even standard formats like PDFs or Word documents can raise red flags if they contain embedded links or macros.

Size also matters. Large attachments can trigger spam filters simply because they take up too much space. Email providers prefer lightweight emails, so a bulky message with multiple attachments is more likely to be blocked.

Reason #9. Your recipient marked you as spam (maybe accidentally)

In many email clients, users have an option to manually mark emails as spam.

If the person who you’re trying to email previously marked your emails as spam, new emails that you send will also likely end up in the spam folder as well.

Additionally, if you’re sending out bulk emails, too many people marking your emails as spam can negatively affect your reputation as a sender. This can increase the chances of your emails ending up in spam even when you send to people who didn’t mark you as spam.

You may also be interested in:

• How to Transfer Email Address to Another Provider (Step by Step)

How to stop your emails from going to spam 🪄

Now that you know what might be going wrong, let’s get into some actionable tips you can implement to keep your emails out of the spam filter.

Fix #1. Use Mail Tester to spot issues

Mail Tester is an awesome free tool to spot technical issues with email deliverability. All you need to do is:

• Go to Mail Tester
• Send an email to the address that it gives (from the email account where you’re having spam issues). If you’re having issues with a specific email, make sure to use the same text/images/links in your email.
• Click the Then check your score button.
• View the analysis.

Mail Tester will give you an overall score along with some suggestions to improve. You can expand each section for more details:

If your score is very low, usually all you need to do is implement the suggestions to improve your deliverability. Mail Tester is going to tell you what to do exactly, and its tips are usually spot on.

Fix #2. Set up proper authentication

As the web has evolved, spam filters are putting more weight on overall sender reputation rather than just the contents of your emails.

The contents of your emails still matters, but someone with a sterling reputation might be able to get away with some spam-adjacent content that a sender with a poor reputation can’t.

One of the best ways to improve your reputation is to make sure you’re properly authenticating your emails with methods like DKIM and SPF.

If you’re using a free service like Gmail, you don’t need to worry about this. This only applies if you’re using a custom email address like you@yoursite.com.

You can set up these authentication methods by adding TXT records in your domain’s DNS management.

You can get the records that you need from your email hosting service. Try searching the help documentation for “SPF” or “DKIM” or ask the support team for help if you can’t find it.

Then, you need to add those records to your domain name using the DNS editor. You’ll do this:

• Via your web host’s dashboard if you’re using your host’s nameservers
• Via your domain registrar if you’re not using your host’s nameservers

For example, here’s what it looks like to add the Zoho Mail SPF record via the DNS management tool at Kinsta, a popular WordPress host:

Fix #3. Use a dedicated sending service for your website

If you’re having spam issues with the emails that you send from your website, a great way to avoid problems is to use a dedicated email sending service (AKA SMTP provider) rather than trying to send from your host’s SMTP server.

This is especially true for WordPress sites. The default method that WordPress uses to send emails is almost certainly going to end up with your emails in spam folders a large percentage of the time.

Don’t worry! For a small site, you can find sending services that are 100% free. Usually, you’ll be fine on the free tier for up to ~300 emails per day.

We have a post that collects the best SMTP providers for websites. However, for beginners, we recommend Brevo because it’s super easy to set up with a WordPress website and includes a generous free plan.

ℹ️ Plus, if you ever need more, Brevo also has affordable plans that allow to sell more emails and serve more contacts. Here’s a detailed breakdown of Brevo pricing.

Fix #4. Properly maintain your subscriber lists

A messy email list can tank your deliverability. If you’re sending emails to people who never opted in or haven’t engaged in ages, you’re increasing your risk of spam complaints, bounces, and low engagement.

Here’s how to keep your list in good shape:

• Get clear opt-ins – Only email people who have explicitly subscribed. Avoid buying lists or adding people without permission.
• Remove inactive subscribers – If someone hasn’t opened an email in months, consider a re-engagement campaign. If they don’t respond, remove them. Too many inactive users hurt your sender reputation.
• Make unsubscribing easy – A visible unsubscribe link prevents frustrated recipients from marking your emails as spam.

Fix #5. Segment your audience into sublists

If you’re sending the same generic email to everyone on your list, you’re making a big mistake. Not only are your emails less likely to get opened, but they might also get ignored, deleted, or even marked as spam. And when that happens too often, email providers take notice.

For example, if I send an email about a product update to someone who has never bought it, they’re probably not going to care. But if I send a special offer to a long-time customer based on what they’ve actually bought before, they’re much more likely to engage. That’s the idea of segmentation.

Breaking your audience into groups – by interests, purchase history, or even how often they open your emails – helps you send messages that actually matter to them = they will not end up in spam.

Pair that with personalization, like using people’s names or referencing something specific about their behavior, and suddenly your emails feel less like mass marketing and more like a conversation.

Why does this help with inbox placement? Simple: the more people open, click, and engage with your emails, the more email providers trust that your messages belong in the inbox. And once that happens, you’re in a much better position to avoid the spam folder.

Fix #6. Follow email design/copy best practices when sending emails

Once you’ve properly authenticated your emails, you’ll already be well on your way to avoiding the spam folder.

However, don’t forget the many design and copy sins that we talked about:

• Don’t abuse images – Don’t rely on a single large image or lots of small images. Use text/HTML instead of including everything in images.
• Avoid spammy copy – Don’t use spammy words, avoid spelling/grammar issues, and don’t abuse punctuation/emojis.
• Avoid unnecessary attachments – Don’t send attachments unless they’re absolutely necessary.
• Make sure to add sender information – For marketing emails, make sure to include your physical address and accurate sender information.
• Only link to reputable sites – Don’t do anything that could be construed as “tricking” people into clicking links that they didn’t intend to visit.

Fix #7. Ask recipients to whitelist your emails

Finally, if all else fails, you can always ask your recipients to whitelist your email address to avoid your emails going to spam. You’ll see even big brands asking subscribers to whitelist their emails, so this actually isn’t an uncommon strategy:

To make it easier for people, you can create a help doc that shows them how to whitelist your email address in popular clients, like Gmail.

Final thoughts & a quick-reference checklist ✅

If your emails keep ending up in spam, don’t panic, but don’t ignore it either! Spam filters aren’t random, they rely on clear rules to decide which emails make it to the inbox and which get filtered out. If you’re getting caught in those filters, it’s likely because of one (or more) of the common issues we covered.

The good news? Most of these problems can be fixed. Before you send your next email, use this checklist to make sure you’re not setting off any spam alarms:

If you checked all the right boxes but still have issues, test your emails, tweak your approach, and keep an eye on engagement. The more relevant and trustworthy your emails are, the better chance they have of landing where they belong – not in spam!

Still have any questions about why your emails are going to spam? Let us know in the comments!

Layout and presentation by Karol K.