Detailed guidance on navigating Gmail and Yahoo email policy updates

Introduction

Gmail and Yahoo are changing the way bulk email and spam are handled. Specifically, starting February 1, 2024, Google and Yahoo will automatically block all messages from bulk-sending organisations with a spam complaint rate of 0.3% or higher.

These changes apply to any email domain, sending emails to

1. Gmail Address - gmail.com | googlemail.com
2. Yahoo Address - Any Personal email address for Yahoo mail - yahoo.co.in | yahoomail.com

Sense is fully equipped to ensure your email campaigns comply with the latest updates to Gmail and Yahoo policies. These platforms have introduced measures to protect users from spam, which is defined as unsolicited, irrelevant, or inappropriate messages sent over email, particularly in large quantities. It is important to make these updates and ensure you comply with the updated guideline, otherwise, your emails may not be delivered to recipients.

Please note that it applies to any businesses or individuals sending more than 5,000 emails a day. These policies are a response to the growing challenges of spam, phishing, and email-based fraud

Even if you are not sending this volume yet, or sending to other mail providers, we suggest making these updates as it’s expected that other mail providers will adopt these guidelines at varying volumes as well.

Detailed Policy Changes and Metrics

1. Gmail Bulk Sender Changes
2. Yahoo Bulk Sender Policy Changes

Gmail's Updated Requirements:

1. Robust Email Authentication: Gmail requires that all outbound emails be authenticated via SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This measure ensures that the email is sent from a verified source and reduces the likelihood of it being flagged as spam.
2. Streamlined Unsubscribe: An accessible one-click unsubscribe link must be included in every email, giving recipients the power to opt-out easily.
3. Spam Report Threshold: Gmail's acceptable spam rate is below 0.3% of the total email volume sent. Exceeding this rate can lead to email delivery issues, including blocking or filtering of emails.

Yahoo's Enhanced Policies:

1. Active Domain Monitoring: Senders are encouraged to use Yahoo Postmaster Tools to keep an eye on their email-sending practices and maintain a positive domain reputation.
2. Volume and Engagement Scrutiny: Yahoo will closely monitor senders who send more than 5000 emails, focusing on complaint rates and engagement metrics. A high spam rate here can also lead to deliverability challenges. Note that the volume guidelines apply to any emails sent from your domain, not just from Sense.

Spam Definitions and Metrics

Spam for Gmail and Yahoo includes but is not limited to:

• Emails that users mark as spam using the 'Report spam' button.
• Unsolicited bulk emails that are not relevant to the user.
• Low-engagement emails that indicate recipients are not interested in the content, potentially leading them to be marked as spam.

Metrics to Monitor

• Spam Rate: The percentage of your emails that are marked as spam by users. For both Gmail and Yahoo, maintaining a spam rate below 0.3% is crucial.
• Engagement Metrics [Not necessary for Spam policy but good to keep an eye on]: These include open rates and click-through rates. High engagement is typically indicative of relevant content that is less likely to be marked as spam.
• Bounce Rates[Not necessary for Spam policy but good to keep an eye on]: A metric that reflects the rate at which your emails are not delivered. A high bounce rate can affect your sender's reputation and contribute to being marked as spam.
• Unsubscribe Rates[Not necessary for Spam policy but good to keep an eye on]: A metric that reflects how many people are unsubscribing your email. This is the first step to prevent being "marked as spam" i.e. - The user, can opt-out and unsubscribe, but if they are still sent emails from the same domain, high chance are there that can user can mark them as spam.

Using Postmaster Tools

These tools provide insights into your email performance and can help you stay within the acceptable spam rate. We strongly recommend signing up for these and regularly monitoring them for email traffic across your domain:

• Google Postmaster Tools (https://postmaster.google.com/): Analyze your spam rate, domain reputation, and more to ensure your emails are trusted by Gmail.
• Yahoo Postmaster Tools (https://postmaster.yahoo.com/): Use these tools to check the health of your domain and monitor any metrics that could indicate an issue with spam on Yahoo.

Compliance Measures by Sense

Authentication Enforcement: Sense automatically authenticates emails from [yourdomain.com], providing a safeguard against being marked as spam.

Before any email you send from Sense, we make sure that you authenticate your SPM and DKIM via DMARC at Sense. Without that, you are not able to send an email to any contact type from Sense.

Metric Alerts: Monitor content subscription Unsubscribe rate for regularly.

Content Subscription has an Unsubscribe Rates measure which measures how many users have unsubscribed you. This is from all the email domains you are sending email to.

To get a specific report on how users, have opted out of your emails, please connect with your CSM

Make sure to monitor the Google Postmaster and Yahoo Postmaster tools - Please sign up using your domain credentials

Template Compliance: All emails outgoing from Engage should include a one-click unsubscribe link, in line with Gmail and Yahoo requirements.

For Transactional Emails, we do have the option to remove unsubscribe link but we would highly suggest keeping an unsubscribe link.

Steps for Your Compliance

Review Email DNS Settings: Ensure your email DNS settings in Sense are configured correctly for optimal deliverability.

Example - 

For setup - You can have a look here - https://support.sensehq.co/hc/en-us/articles/360041183571-Email-DNS-Verification

• Engagement Strategies: Develop content that resonates with your audience to keep engagement high and spam markings low.
• Educate Your Marketing Team: Make sure your team is aware of these updates and understands the importance of adhering to the new policies.
• Opt-in: Only send emails to candidates and contacts who have opted in and want to receive it to ensure you aren’t marked as spam. Use Sense’s list targeting capabilities to segment lists and send the right message to the right group.
• Content Quality: Ensure your content is relevant, valuable, and engaging to your audience. Some key points - 

1. 1. Personalization
   2. Clear and Concise Subject Lines
   3. Relevant Content
   4. Call to Action (CTA)
   5. Visual Appeal
   6. Mobile Optimisation

Support and Assistance

For support or questions regarding these changes, please reach out to support@sensehq.com.

Conclusion

Understanding and complying with these policy changes will help protect your emails from being marked as spam, ensuring they reach your audience. Sense is here to support you in meeting these new standards for email deliverability.