Gmail’s promotions tab: friend or foe for email marketers?

A common misconception email marketers have is that landing in Gmail’s Promotions tab is a bad thing. Gmail separates emails into different tabs for a reason, and it can benefit your campaign by preventing it from being labeled as spam. The tabs are meant to help organize a user’s inbox, not punish senders.

The important thing to recognize is that the Promotions tab is still the inbox! Email deliverability is not impacted. If you’re sending valuable content that subscribers want, they are going to engage with your emails no matter what tab it lands in. Besides, of all email sent to Gmail users, studies have shown only 2-3% of mail lands in the Primary tab while over 90% was classified as either promotions or updates.¹

We’ll still provide you with some tips on how to improve your chances of landing in the Primary tab (at least temporarily). However, we believe that it’s easier, and more beneficial in the long run, to focus on how to stand out in the Promotions tab. If it looks and sounds like a promotion, it’s likely going to end up in Promotions. The exception to the rule is if the user really enjoys your content and engages with it or moves it to the Primary inbox. But don’t be discouraged if that’s not the case. Work with it. In fact, there are some advantages and unique features you can utilize in the Promotions tab, too!

Understanding the tabs in Gmail

Before we dive into email optimization, let’s take a moment to understand what the different tabs are and how they work. When Gmail users receive an email, Gmail automatically sorts that email into a specific tab based on a variety of factors. These tabs are designed to help users organize their emails. Here are some key differences between them:

Keep in mind that these tabs are configured based on the recipient’s preferences. Users can toggle between what tabs are enabled. A Mailjet study conducted in 2021 found that “53.3% of people with Gmail accounts use the Tabs feature. Out of those, 79.7% check the Promotions tab at least once a week, and 51% do this daily.

Factors that influence where your email lands

Gmail uses an algorithm to determine which tab an email should go to. The algorithm considers a number of things, including:

• Sender reputation: Gmail looks at the sender’s reputation to determine whether an email is likely to be spam or unwanted. If the sender has a good reputation, the email is more likely to land in the Primary tab.
• Email content: Gmail analyzes the content of the email to determine whether it is promotional or personal in nature. If the email includes promotional language (“Free”, “Buy Now”, “Free Gift”, “Sale”, “Discount”) or contains offers or discounts, it’s likely to land in the Promotions tab.
• Recipient behavior: Gmail looks at the recipient’s email history to determine whether they are more likely to engage with promotional emails or personal emails. If the recipient has a history of engaging with your emails, the message is more likely to land in the Primary tab.
• Email list quality: The email is more likely to land in the Primary tab if the sender has a high-quality email list with engaged subscribers. If the email list contains a lot of inactive or unengaged subscribers, the email is more likely to land in the Promotions tab.

Tips for landing in the Primary Tab

While landing in the Primary tab is ideal for email marketers, it can be difficult to achieve. However, there are some steps that you can take to improve your chances.

• Personalize your emails: Personalized emails are more likely to be seen as important or personal by Gmail users, which means they are more likely to land in the Primary tab. Use the recipient’s name in the subject line and/or body of the email, and tailor the content of the email to their interests and preferences.
• Avoid promotional language: As we mentioned earlier, emails that use promotional language are more likely to land in the Promotions tab. Avoid using these kinds of words in your subject line, and be cautious about using all caps, dollar signs, or excessive punctuation.
• Segment your email list: Segmenting your email list allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails to your subscribers, which can increase the chances of your emails landing in the Primary tab. Segment your list based on factors like location, interests, and purchase history.
• Ask your subscribers to move your emails: One of the most effective ways to get your emails to land in the Primary tab is to simply ask your subscribers to move your emails from the Promotions tab to the Primary tab. Send an email to your subscribers asking them to do this and provide step-by-step instructions for how to do it.
• During the sign-up process, encourage engagement: During the opt-in process, consider having the first email to your new subscriber require a response. Keep the message short, valuable, and memorable.

Embrace the Promotions Tab

Finally, if you can’t beat ‘em…

Trying to forcibly land your emails in the Primary tab could harm your deliverability and sender reputation. Instead, focus on sending relevant content to your audience segments and making the most of the unique features of the Promotions tab.

To optimize your email content for the Promotions tab, you should focus on crafting relevant and engaging content that is personalized, targeted, and aligned with your subscribers’ expectations. You can use clear and concise subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your email. Customize deal badges and images in the inbox to make your email stand out as well.

Annotations – don’t discount this feature!

Email marketers can also use annotations to make their emails more engaging in the Promotions tab. Annotations are a way to highlight emails in the Promotions tab by adding key information. Several aspects of this feature can be optimized.

• Logo: The logo appears next to the sender’s name in Gmail, making it more recognizable and trustworthy for the recipient. It can be set for annotations only or for all campaigns in Gmail settings or Gravatar.
• Company Name: Gmail generates a new header and uses it even if your email already has a sender name. By entering a name that’s associated with your brand or using a sender name you use for all campaigns, you can make your brand more recognizable and trustworthy.
• Subject: A clear and precise subject line that accurately reflects the content of your email can increase the chances of your email being opened and read. The subject lines of the annotation and the email itself can be the same.
• Deal badge: A deal badge specifies your discount amount, making it more attractive and engaging for the recipient. Using about four words for this element can make it more effective.
• Discount code: Entering the discount code if it’s necessary to use your offer can make it easier for the recipient to redeem the offer. The discount code should be given in the email as well.
• Expiration date: Specifying the date your offer is valid can create a sense of urgency and encourage the recipient to act before the offer expires.
• Banner: Annotations that have a banner or featured image are expected to perform better, as they are more visually appealing and engaging. It’s important to refrain from using the same images for different annotations as they may be considered as duplicates and ignored by users.

For a guide on how to add annotations to your emails, Gmail has put together a great resource.

Create a Product Carousel

The Gmail Promotions tab also offers users the ability to create product carousels allowing marketers to showcase multiple products or services in a visual and interactive way. You can include up to 10 image previews in each carousel to entice potential customers. This added bit of inbox real estate is another way to grab the eye of your subscribers and improve click-throughs and open rates. The carousel can be added to an email via the email’s HTML editor.

Users are in the mood, and thus more likely to engage.

There’s also a psychological aspect to the Promotions tab. Gmail users are typically in the mood to shop and look for deals when they enter this tab. They are more likely to open and click through your email at a time when this type of engagement is convenient for them.

Gmail and Yahoo inbox updates for 2024

Gmail and Yahoo have announced new enhancements for 2024 that will improve user inbox experiences and have a significant influence on senders. Gmail and Yahoo will enforce stricter security criteria for bulk email senders in the first quarter of 2024. Gmail will closely monitor senders who send more than 5000 messages per day, and will enforce a spam complaint rate limit of 0.3% (available within their Postmaster tools). Bulk senders will need to strongly verify their emails using best practices. Failure to do so will result in emails being rejected or labelled as spam. These updates aim to eliminate loopholes used by attackers which threaten all who use email.

Requirements for bulk senders:

• Ensure DKIM is in place (we recommend setting up SPF and DKIM, and even including a DMARC policy)
• Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe (one-click unsubscribe)
• Send wanted email (keep spam complaints to a minimum)

Now that your fears are quelled

While landing in the Primary tab might seem ideal for email marketers, landing in the Promotions tab can still lead to increased deliverability, engagement, and conversions – especially with its added features. So don’t fear landing in the Promotions tab. Instead, try optimizing your emails for it!

Want to start putting these strategies into action? We’re here to help. Companies use Inboxable® to track and optimize email deliverability – from inboxing and open rates to blocklist monitoring, SPAM complaints, engagement levels and more. Our team of deliverability experts will not only monitor your campaigns but also provide recommendations and proactively troubleshoot any issues we identify on your behalf.

Editor’s Note: This Q&A with our Inboxable experts was originally published in August 2020 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness in October 2023.

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