Google Postmaster Tools - What it is and how information technology tin assist you lot

  • Article
  • 6 minutes to read

Google Postmaster Tools is an awesome resources that allows senders to troubleshoot deliverability hiccups. The tools deliver essential insights into important metrics that tin can identify trouble areas in e-mail sending practices.

According to Gmail, using these tools can determine the health of your email program.

Even if Gmail is non your primary target, understanding how your post is viewed by Gmail can give you a better understanding of how you lot are perceived elsewhere.

Once you go set and running, Google will give insights into several data points organized into unlike dashboards.

  • Spam rate
  • IP reputation
  • Domain reputation
  • Authentication
  • Encryption
  • Commitment errors

In this guide, we'll show yous how to:

  • Ready Google Postmaster Tools
  • Interpret the dashboards

Getting access to Google Postmaster Tools

Notation

To utilize Postmaster Tools, you lot demand to have a Google account (Google Workspace or a Gmail address). If you don't take a Google Business relationship, you'll demand to create ane.

After you take created a Google account, log in to https://postmaster.google.com. We recommend creating a new, custom Gmail account, which can exist hands shared amongst users.

After selecting Become started, you volition be asked to add your domain:

Add domain screenshot.

Select Side by side. Now, it'due south time to verify the ownership of your domain.

Domain verification screenshot.

Access your DNS tape, and add together the TXT record provided by Google. One time completed go dorsum to Google Postmaster and select Verify.

If the TXT record is not plant, bank check that the TXT was added correctly and try again. If y'all have problems calculation the TXT record, Google offers a 2d verification method that involves adding a CNAME record.

One time the DNS records have been properly published, you volition see the domain status flip to Verified.

Domain verified screenshot.

Understanding Google Postmaster dashboards

Note

In that location a minimum daily electronic mail volume threshold for data to populate in the Google Postmaster Tools. Google doesn't publish the specific threshold, just we've found that if you lot are sending over 100 messages per day to unique Gmail users, reputation data volition exist generated for that twenty-four hours.

Reports generated by Google update daily, providing insights into the prior day'due south performance. All information is aggregated. Instead of giving you lot a score (for example, 0 to 100), Google gathers the results inside groups ranked from Bad to High.

Interpret numbers on the dashboard

Spam rate

The spam charge per unit is the percentage of emails marked every bit spam by users versus emails sent to the inbox for active users. If a substantial number of emails are delivered straight to spam folders, you may see a depression spam rate, even though users may still be marking your inboxed emails every bit spam.

Spam rate screenshot.

IP reputation

A college IP reputation means emails sent from this IP are more likely to go to a recipient'southward inbox instead of their spam folder. For example, if you ship a lot of emails, and users mark them as spam, your IP reputation number will go downwardly.

To reduce negative user feedback, you should regularly check your sending list. Be sure to only transport emails to users who want them. If you lot have mixed categories (Bad/Low/Medium/Loftier), you can place which sending IPs are in each category by selecting the bar color.

The definitions of spam below include email detected as spam by Gmail's spam filter, and mail reported past users as spam.

  • Bad: A history of sending a high volume of spam. Email coming from this entity will virtually e'er exist rejected at connection time or marked as spam.
  • Low: Known to ship a considerable volume of spam regularly. E-mail from this sender will likely be marked as spam.
  • Medium/Fair: Known to transport practiced email, but has occasionally sent a depression volume of spam. Most of the email from this entity will have a fair deliverability charge per unit, except when there's a notable increase in spam levels.
  • High: Has a adept track record of a very low spam charge per unit, and complies with Gmail's sender guidelines. E-mail volition rarely be marked by the spam filter.

IP reputation screenshot.

Domain reputation

A higher domain reputation ways emails from your sending domain are less likely to get filtered to a recipient's spam binder or inbox.

The definitions of spam below includes mail service detected as spam by Gmail's spam filter, and mail reported past users as spam.

  • Bad: A history of sending an enormously loftier volume of spam. Email coming from this entity will almost always exist rejected at SMTP or marked equally spam.
  • Depression: Known to ship a considerable volume of spam regularly. E-mail from this sender will likely be marked as spam.
  • Medium/Fair: Known to transport adept email, but has occasionally sent a low volume of spam. About of the email from this entity will have a fair deliverability rate, except when there's a notable increase in spam levels.
  • High: Has a good track record of a very low spam charge per unit, and complies with Gmail'due south sender guidelines. Email volition rarely exist marked by the spam filter.

Domain reputation screenshot.

Feedback loop

Currently, Dynamics 365 Marketing does not offer this feature, even so we are working on getting this data available to our senders.

Authentication

This dashboard shows the percentage of your emails that passed SPF, DKIM, and DMARC over all received traffic that attempted authentication.

  • SPF graph: Shows percentage of electronic mail that passed SPF versus all electronic mail from that domain that attempted SPF. This excludes any spoofed email.
  • DKIM graph: Shows the percentage of electronic mail that passed DKIM versus all electronic mail from that domain that attempted DKIM.
  • DMARC graph (only if y'all have a valid DMARC record published): Shows percentage of email that passed DMARC alignment versus all electronic mail received from the domain that passed either of SPF or DKIM.

Authentication screenshot.

Encryption

This dashboard shows what percentage of your entering and outbound traffic is encrypted.

  • TLS Entering: Shows the percent of incoming email (to Gmail) that passed TLS versus all e-mail received from that domain.
  • TLS Outbound: Shows the percent of outgoing email (from Gmail) that was accepted over TLS versus all email sent to that domain.

Encryption screenshot.

Delivery errors

This graph monitors what percentage of your total emails were rejected or temporarily failed as compared to all authenticated traffic. Under the graph, you tin view a list of reasons an email failed.

  • Rate limit exceeded: The Domain or IP is sending traffic at a suspiciously high rate and temporary rate limits have been put in identify.
  • Suspected spam: The traffic is suspected to be spam past Gmail.
  • Email content is peradventure spammy: The traffic is suspected to be spammy specifically because of the content.
  • Bad or unsupported attachment: Traffic contains attachments not supported by Gmail.
  • DMARC policy of the sender domain: The sender domain has prepare a DMARC rejection policy.
  • Sending IP has a low reputation: The IP reputation of the sending IP is very low.
  • Sending domain has a low reputation: The Domain reputation of the sending domain is very low.
  • IP is in ane or more public RBLs: The IP is listed in one or more public Real-time Blackhole Lists (RBLs). Work with the RBL to get your IP de-listed.
  • Domain is in i or more public RBLs: The Domain is listed in 1 or more public Real-time Blackhole Lists. Piece of work with the RBL to get your domain delisted.
  • Bad or missing PTR record: The sending IP is missing a PTR record.

Delivery errors screenshot.

That's pretty much it. Nosotros promise this will help you getting Google Postmaster Tools upward and running. If you need more insights into these tools, let us know. We tin can help.