A few weeks ago I posted that I've been experience a lower than usual open rate falling from around 42% to 29%. Someone suggested I look into Google Postmaster for information on spam rate and deliverability. I got this to work and started investigating but can't determine what I should do. I provided information below. Thanks! Edit: It is important to note that I use the same template and sending method (a data extension for every monthly send so nothing has changed here)
Deliverability analysis:
"A significant percentage of your messages have delivery errors, typically a result in sudden increase in sending volume or issues with your infrastructure. The errors are causing a delivery delay for the affected messages."
Recommended action: Check the STMP logs for your outgoing email. Reduce sending rate and check the SMTP bounce message for more details and instructions.
Delivery Errors for recent sends
Error type: reject, reason: suspected spam, percentage: 7.32%
Error type: reject, reason: suspected spam, percentage: 71.53%
Error type: reject, reason: suspected spam, percentage: 0.69%
Spam rate:
July: 0.04%
August: 0.08%
September: 0.03%
I was also told to run it through Senderscore for my IP address and it came back with a high score of around 90 so it shouldnt be the IP address.
Taylor, you're right — Google retired the Domain and IP Reputation dashboards from Postmaster Tools with the v1-to-v2 transition (v1 was phased out through late 2025), so that recommendation doesn't apply anymore. Good catch, and SenderScore was a reasonable substitute given that.
What replaced it in v2 is worth using instead:
- Compliance Status dashboard — checks SPF/DKIM/DMARC alignment, PTR record, TLS, and one-click unsubscribe compliance, and flags exactly which of those is failing rather than giving a vague score
- Deliverability analysis section (added to the Compliance Status page) — gives a plain-language verdict on whether Gmail thinks recipients want your mail, which is actually closer to what the old reputation score was trying to approximate
So swap #3 in my earlier list for: check Compliance Status for any "Needs work" flags (especially DMARC alignment, since that's a common silent break), and read the Deliverability analysis verdict on that same page.
Since you're already planning to prune unengaged subscribers, that's still the right first move — the reputation signal moved into engagement/complaint data rather than a standalone score, so list hygiene is more directly tied to what Gmail evaluates now than it used to be.
