How to Check if Your Emails are Going to Spam?

Sending an important email, only to find out it ended up in someone’s spam folder, can be frustrating. Spam filters are designed to block unwanted or harmful emails, but sometimes, even legitimate emails can mistakenly end up in spam. If you’re worried that your emails are being marked as spam, here’s how you can check and what you can do to prevent it.

Why Do Emails Go to Spam?

Before diving into how to check, it’s important to understand why emails might be flagged as spam. Spam filters look at several things:

1. Unusual Content: Emails with too many links, images, or suspicious words like “free,” “offer,” or “click here” can trigger spam filters.
2. Unverified Sender: If your email address or domain isn’t properly set up or verified, some email systems might see it as suspicious.
3. Lack of Engagement: If the people you’re sending emails to don’t open them, mark them as spam, or ignore them, your future emails might be flagged.
4. Email Reputation: If your email domain has been associated with sending spam in the past, it could hurt your ability to send emails that land in the inbox.
5. Broken Links or Attachments: Emails with links that don’t work or files that look suspicious can be a red flag for spam filters.

Step 1: Check Your Own Spam Folder

One simple way to check if your emails are going to spam is by sending an email to yourself. Follow these steps:

• Send an email to your own address.
• Wait for a few minutes.
• Check your inbox to see if the email arrived.
• If you don’t see it in your inbox, look in your Spam or Junk folder.

If the email landed in your spam folder, it’s a sign that something about the email is being flagged as spam by your email provider.

Step 2: Ask Your Recipients to Check

Sometimes your emails might be going to spam for other people, even if they aren’t for you. A simple way to check this is by asking the people you email to check their spam or junk folders. Ask them:

• “Did my email end up in your spam folder?”
• “Have you received my recent email?”

If multiple people say that your emails are going to spam, it’s a sign that something needs to be fixed.

Step 3: Use a Spam Checker Tool

There are online tools that can help you check if your email might be considered spam. These tools scan your email and give you a score based on how likely it is to be flagged as spam. Some popular spam-checker tools include:

• Mail-Tester: You can send your email to an address provided by Mail-Tester, and it will give you a score along with detailed feedback on why your email might go to spam.
• GlockApps: This tool can help you test your email’s deliverability and see if it ends up in spam folders across different email providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.

Using one of these tools can give you insights into why your emails might be marked as spam and what you can do to improve.

Step 4: Check Your Email Settings

If your emails are consistently going to spam, the problem might lie with your email domain or settings. Here’s what you should check:

1. SPF Record: SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a setting that helps verify that your emails are coming from a legitimate source. If this isn’t set up properly, email providers might flag your emails as spam. You can check if your SPF record is set up using tools like MXToolbox.
2. DKIM: DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is another email security measure. It adds a digital signature to your emails to prove that they weren’t tampered with during delivery. Make sure your domain has DKIM set up.
3. DMARC: DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an extra layer of security. It tells email providers how to handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks. Setting up DMARC can improve your email’s trustworthiness.
4. Check Blacklists: Sometimes, email domains get added to a blacklist if they’ve sent spam in the past. You can check if your domain is blacklisted using tools like MXToolbox or Spamhaus. If your domain is blacklisted, you’ll need to follow the steps provided by the blacklist service to remove it.

Step 5: Improve Your Email Content

Improving the content of your emails can help reduce the chances of them going to spam. Here are some tips:

• Avoid Spammy Language: Words like “free,” “buy now,” or “limited offer” can trigger spam filters. Use clear, professional language instead.
• Use a Clear Subject Line: Make sure your subject line is simple, relevant, and not misleading. Avoid using all caps or too many exclamation marks.
• Limit Links and Attachments: Too many links or large attachments can look suspicious. Only include what’s necessary.
• Use Text and Images Wisely: Emails with only images and no text can be flagged as spam. Make sure your email has a good balance of text and images.
• Provide an Unsubscribe Option: If you’re sending marketing or bulk emails, always include an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe. Not having this option can make your emails look like spam.

Step 6: Ask Recipients to Whitelist Your Email

To ensure that your emails never end up in someone’s spam folder, ask them to add your email address to their contact list or “whitelist” it. This tells their email provider that they trust your emails, so future messages are less likely to be marked as spam.