Email Spam Test Send to a unique address, then check your score

A deliverability test tells you whether your messages are likely to reach the inbox rather than the spam folder. You send a message to the unique address the tool generates, and it inspects the result: your authentication records, your sending IP and domain reputation, the content of the message, and the technical headers. You then get a score with the specific issues that lowered it.

A spam score summarises how spam filters are likely to judge your message, usually out of ten. Points are deducted for problems such as missing SPF, DKIM or DMARC records, a blocklisted sending IP, broken or mismatched HTML, misleading subject lines, an unusually high ratio of images to text, and a missing unsubscribe link in bulk mail.

The most common causes are incomplete authentication, so the receiving server cannot prove you are who you claim to be; a poor reputation for your sending domain or IP; content that resembles known spam; and recipient behaviour, such as low open rates or people marking your mail as junk. Sending to old lists that generate bounces and complaints damages all of these at once.

They are the three DNS-based standards that prove your mail is legitimate. SPF lists which servers may send for your domain, DKIM adds a cryptographic signature so tampering can be detected, and DMARC tells receivers what to do when a message fails the first two and where to send reports. Major providers now expect all three from bulk senders, and missing them is one of the fastest routes to the spam folder.

Start with authentication: publish valid SPF, DKIM and DMARC records and confirm they pass. Then check whether your sending IP or domain is on a blocklist. After that, tidy the message itself with a clear subject line, a sensible text-to-image balance, working links, a plain-text alternative, and a visible unsubscribe option in marketing mail. Re-test after each change so you can see what actually moved the score.

Test whenever you change your sending setup, move to a new provider or IP, alter your authentication records, or launch a significant campaign. Regular senders benefit from a periodic check as well, because reputation drifts over time and a blocklist entry or an expired DKIM key can appear without any obvious warning.