June 11, 2018
New Yes Lifecycle Marketing analysis unveils deliverability best practices for improving Gmail reputation and inboxing rates
CHICAGO – June 11, 2018 – Marketers who improved their Gmail reputation improved their inboxing rate by as much as 97 percent, according to new data from Yes Lifecycle Marketing. The data further unveiled the mailing best practices marketers followed to improve their reputation.
Data from the “Gmail Deliverability: Understanding, Benchmarking and Improving Gmail Reputation” report reveals that improvements in Gmail reputation resulted in significant increases in inbox placement. When examined as a group, senders who improved their reputation by one tier experienced a 55 percent improvement in inboxing rates at Gmail. Those who moved from “low” to “medium” reputation saw the largest increase in inboxing at 78 percent. Meanwhile, senders who registered a shift from “medium” to “high” reputation improved inboxing by 29 percent, and those who moved from “bad” to “low” reputation improved inboxing by 45 percent, indicating positive gains across the board for those who improve their reputation with Gmail.
“The importance of email for marketers only continues to grow, and as Gmail has become the fastest-growing and most actively used ISP, brands’ campaign success hinges on their reputation with Gmail,” said Jim Sturm, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. “There are several key deliverability best practices closely tied to Gmail reputation, and marketers must understand and adhere to these practices to improve their standing with this ISP and ensure they’re reaching subscribers.”
In the report, Yes Lifecycle Marketing analyzed Gmail reputation data from more than 150 brands over the period spanning mid-2017 to Q1 2018 to help marketers better understand how their reputation stacks up against others and what steps they can take to improve it. The study reviewed Gmail’s reputation metrics – which rates senders’ domain and assigns a reputation tier based on factors such as email volume and spam – against panel inbox placement data from senders across industries, including retail, financial services, consumer goods, entertainment and more.
“With Gmail’s outsize growth as an ISP, brands’ sending reputation at Gmail is increasingly important when it comes to inboxing and, subsequently, campaign ROI,” said Anshul Sharma, senior analyst, intelligence products. “Messages from brands with a bad or low Gmail reputation often won’t reach their intended recipients, making it impossible to drive opens, clicks and ultimately, conversions.”
While changes to Gmail’s algorithm had a significant impact on senders’ reputation over the study’s timeframe, the most substantial improvements in reputation and inbox placement rates resulted from positive changes in marketers’ emailing practices.
“Gmail’s consistent growth and constant innovation have redefined best practices and created additional steps for marketers focused on cutting through the noise and mastering customer engagement,” said Michael Iaccarino, president of Infogroup, parent company of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. “Brands need a partner who can help them understand and act on these changes to boost customer engagement and drive their cross-channel marketing strategy in the right direction.”
To learn more about Gmail deliverability best practices, download the full report here.
Yes Lifecycle Marketing provides solutions that orchestrate multichannel marketing communications to drive results and revenue. This is accomplished by leveraging technology, data, analytics, creative, and strategy to activate and optimize insights-driven, real-time, relevant communications. This holistic approach gives marketers the ability to source a full- service offering of best-of-breed technology and solutions from a single vendor in order to achieve their desired outcomes across all on and offline channels. To learn more, call 1-877- 937-6245, email [email protected] or visit www.yeslifecyclemarketing.com.
Infogroup is a leading provider of data and data-driven marketing solutions. Infogroup provides data, technology and services that help marketers acquire new customers and maximize the value of existing relationships. The company’s data and marketing solutions help clients of all sizes, from local SMBs to FORTUNE 100™ enterprises, increase sales and customer loyalty. Infogroup provides both digital and traditional marketing channel expertise that is enhanced by access to our proprietary data on 280 million individuals and 24 million businesses. For more information, visit www.infogroup.com.