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Spam filters can be defined as algorithms used to detect infected, undesired, or unsolicited emails. These emails are then blocked from reaching their intended inboxes. Spam filters are different, and come with different capabilities.
They are involved in confusing, complex, and changing work, meaning that it is difficult to understand everything that they do. Due to the pressure put on spam filters, it is difficult for them (spam filters) to meet all set expectations.
That notwithstanding, there are a couple of things and measures you can take to ensure that you have stopped your emails from going to spam filters. You can also use email marketing tools to ensure that you are on the safe side. But before then, here are different types of spam filters;
Desktop Spam Filters
These are software applications that can be installed on a computer. They are used to monitor emails that have already gone through the spam filters set by email service providers. They add another protection layer.
Most people use these spam filters since they can configure them to meet their requirements. Unfortunately, desktop spam filters are growing less popular as the spam filters from email service providers continue to improve.
Spam Filters by Third-Parties
These are additional protection layers employed by companies to increase protection in their email systems. They can be employed on the cloud or on-site and work with the email infrastructure used in the companies.
One of the benefits of using these spam filters is their outstanding analytics and reporting capabilities. This allows companies to understand and evaluate their spam activity. With such information, they can find ways of improving their email security and spot phishing emails.
Spam Filters by Email Service Providers
These are the most common types of spam filters. You probably use them without knowing. We all use different email service providers to organize, send, and receive emails. Examples include Office 365, Yahoo Mail, and Gmail.
Companies also use these email service providers. They (the service providers) use spam filters to ensure that only legitimate emails reach their intended destinations. However, they are not perfect.
How Spam Filters Work
Spam filters are used by email service providers to differentiate between users who send legitimate emails from those who send illegitimate ones. Even though spam filters employ various mechanisms to verify senders, they also look at email content, sender legitimacy, and engagement.
They are using machine learning and behavioral data to look at the engagement that senders get from their emails. This way, they can identify businesses or people who send spam emails.
But how does this work? Let us take an example with Gmail. The email service provider processes a lot of emails every day. If, for instance, the same email is sent to hundreds or thousands of people, then a good percentage of them need to engage. If not, then this might hurt your reputation.
Can you avoid spam filters using email marketing tools?
How Email Marketing Tools Help Businesses Avoid Spam Filters
Email Verification
Most email marketing tools play an essential role in helping businesses to avoid spam filters. These tools use email verification APIs to verify emails before you can even save them on your mailing lists.
You can also integrate these APIs into your marketing tools easily. You get up to 100 free requests to check the emails collected from your customers. This way, you will be able to ensure that the emails you have are not only real but also belong to high-value users.
Email Validation
In addition to email verification, email marketing tools also use APIs to validate email addresses collected from your customers. These APIs implement the use of different algorithms to check things like the format of email addresses.
If the format does not follow the generally accepted guidelines, then it is not added to your mailing list. With this, you will only be left with valid email addresses. Your emails will get to the right recipients instead of going to spam filters.
Email Segmentation
Email marketing tools encourage the use of email segmentation when sending emails to your mailing list. For instance, you do not have to send the same email to everyone on your list.
Instead, these tools encourage you to segment your mailing list. After doing that, you target your mailing campaign to the subscribers who would be interested in your products or services.
This way, you will have more people reading your emails and increasing engagement. This improves the reputation of your domain name, something that you need when dealing with email service providers.
Stopping your emails from going to spam filters is not something that marketers often think about. However, it can make or break your marketing campaigns. Understanding how spam filters work is essential in helping you avoid them.
This article was provided by José Luis Martín Cara
