1、2019 SENDER SCORE BENCHMARK22019 Sender Score BTABLE OF CONTENTSPage 3 IntroductionPage 4 Percentage of Send Volume by Sender Score Band Page 5 Average Complaint Rate by Sender Score BandPage 6 Average Unkown User Rate by Sender Score BandPage 7 Average Spam Trap Count by Sender Score Band Page 8 Av
2、erage Delivered Rate by Sender Score BandPages 9-10 Inbox Placement Rate by Sender Score at the Top Four Mailbox ProvidersPage 11 Average Sender Score and Inbox Placement Rate by Industry Page 12 Building and Maintaining a Strong ReputationPage 13 Methodology 2019 Return Path,Inc.All Rights Reserved
3、.Return Path,and the Return Path logo are registered trademarks of Return Path,Inc.These materials may not be reproduced or distributed in any way without the written permission of Return Path,Inc.32019 Sender Score BINTRODUCTIONReaching the inbox is always a challenge.While marketers might feel tha
4、t mailbox providers are being unreasonably strict,there is a reason for this.There is a lot of bad email being sent.Last year alone saw over 600 billion emails from spammers.Mailbox providers have these strict protocols in place not to block legitimate senders,but to keep spammers and harmful conten
5、t out of their users inboxes.To identify the“good”from the“bad,”mailbox providers judge an incoming senders reputation when determining what email to allow or block from their inboxes.A senders reputation is calculated using a variety of metrics,and each mailbox provider has its own formula to judge
6、 whether or not to accept incoming mail and where to filter it.Marketers who are aiming for the inbox use Return Paths Sender Score to discover and track their sender reputation and learn how mailbox providers perceive their messages.Similar to a credit score,Sender Score is an evaluation of your se
7、nding practices compared to other senders to determine the quality of your messages and your email program.A marketers Sender Score is expressed as a number between 0 and 100.Sender Score uses data points and reputation formulas similar to what mailbox providers use to give a relatively accurate rep
8、resentation of how mailbox providers view your email.In this report,we will discuss some of the factors that go into both Sender Score and mailbox providers reputation calculations.In addition,well take a look at the impact these elements on your sending reputation,and how your reputation affects yo
9、ur deliverability.To get the most out of this report,look up your Sender Score and use it to understand how mailbox providers are viewing your program.42019 Sender Score BTHE STATE OF EMAIL REPUTATIONThe quality of email programs has improved dramatically since our first Sender Score Benchmark in 20
10、12 when botnets ruled and spammed the world.At that time,a staggering 60 percent of messages sent came from IP addresses with a Sender Score below 11.Today,only 16 percent of email scored below 11.While the drop in spam over the last eight years can mostly be attributed to the takedown of botnets,em
11、ail marketers are also more aware of reputational risks and have more tools and solutions at their disposal to monitor and solve reputation issues.10%20%30%40%50%5%8%12%42%3%51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-102%1%10%16%2018 Send Volume BreakdownSENDER SCORE BANDPERCENTAGE OF TOTAL VOL
12、UME SENTPERCENTAGE OF SEND VOLUMEBY SENDER SCORE BAND0%1%52019 Sender Score BMETRICS THAT INFLUENCE SENDER REPUTATIONWhile each mailbox provider has its own formula which assigns different weights and values to various components of sender reputation,the factors they include are generally the same.T
13、hree key metrics that factor into sender reputation are complaint rate,unknown user rate,and spam trap count.These metrics are included in reputation calculations because they provide insight into a senders mailing practices.Those with low complaint and unknown rates and few spam trap hits are seen
14、as reputable senders and receive a higher reputation score.As a result,inbox placement tends to be higher for these senders.COMPLAINTSA complaint is generated when a mailbox user marks a message as junk or spam.A high complaint rate signals to mailbox providers that users perceive the message as spa
15、m or abuse,and helps the mailbox provider to automatically detect similar spam or abuse messages in the future.Senders with a Sender Score above 90 were the only ones who managed to maintain a complaint rate below one percent.Those with a Sender Score between zero to 90 had a sharp increase in avera
16、ge complaint rate,ranging from 4.6 percent to 6.3 percent.Average complaint rates more than doubled from last year for senders scoring between 11 and 100.Complaints can originate from various sources for a variety of reasons.Read the Marketers Guide to Subscriber Complaints to understand where compl
17、aints are coming from and why.2.0%3.0%0.0%6.0%8.0%51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-102018 Average Complaint RateSENDER SCORE BAND2017 Average Complaint RateCOMPLAINT RATE6.3%5.6%4.7%0.9%5.4%4.7%4.6%4.6%5.3%6.3%AVERAGE COMPLAINT RATEBY SENDER SCORE BAND62019 Sender Score BUNKNOWN USERS
18、An unknown user is a type of bounced message indicating that an email address doesnt exist at the receiving mailbox provider.Mailbox providers return a hard bounce code(5xx)indicating when email is sent to an unknown user.Senders who not only retain unknown users but send to a high percentage of the
19、m are perceived by mailbox providers as suspicious or having poor list hygiene practices.A high unknown user rate can cause your messages to be throttled,delivered to the spam folder,or blocked.Senders with Sender Scores above 90 tend to keep relatively clean lists,with average unknown user rates of
20、 one percent.The next highest band(81-90)saw an average of three percent,with the rest(zero-80)maintaining an average between six and eight percent.In most cases,marketers should immediately remove addresses that return a 5xx hard bounce code.To learn about the different types of bounces and how to
21、process them,read the Email Marketers Guide to Bounce Processing.4%6%2%0%10%51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-102018 Average Unknown User RateSENDER SCORE BAND2017 Average Unknown User Rate8%AVERAGE UNKNOWN USER RATEBY SENDER SCORE BANDAVERAGE UNKNOWN USER RATE7.2%6.1%3.2%0.9%7.2%6.2%7
22、.5%8.2%5.5%6.3%METRICS THAT INFLUENCE SENDER REPUTATIONcontinued72019 Sender Score BMETRICS THAT INFLUENCE SENDER REPUTATIONcontinuedSPAM TRAPSSpam traps are decoy email addresses used to identify spammers.There are two types of spam traps:Pristine spam traps are decoy accounts that arent owned by a
23、 real person and therefore never subscribe to mailing lists.Mail received at these accounts indicates the email address was acquired without permission,and may also indicate it was acquired through illegal methods such as harvesting.Recycled traps are addresses that were once held by a user,but have
24、 been abandoned and converted into spam traps.Senders with a Sender Score above 90 were the most successful at keeping their lists clean with an average of 0.41 spam traps.Senders scoring 50 and below saw an average of around one or more spam trap hits,with those scoring below 11 seeing an average o
25、f 3.09 spam traps.2064851-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-102018 Average Spam Trap CountSENDER SCORE BAND2017 Average Spam Trap CountAVERAGE SPAM TRAP COUNTAVERAGE SPAM TRAP COUNTBY SENDER SCORE BAND0.491.220.570.410.600.982.162.071.893.09To keep your program safe,make sure you understa
26、nd the different types of spam traps and how to identify and remove them.Also,consider investing in a list validation service to help you identify and remove traps on your list and avoid acquiring new ones.82019 Sender Score BA senders delivered rate measures the percentage of messages that arent bo
27、unced or rejected by mailbox providers gateway filters.The delivered rate does not show which folder the messages were then delivered toprimarily the inbox or the spam folderbut it does factor out any messages that have no hope of being seen by subscribers.In 2018,senders scoring above 90 had an ave
28、rage delivered rate of 91 percent.Those who fell one band below(81-90)saw less mail delivered,with an average of 71 percent.The remaining sendersthose scoring between zero and 80saw more than half of their messages rejected at the gateway.Those scoring above 60 also saw a slight year-over-year incre
29、ase in delivered rates.DELIVERED RATE25%50%75%100%2018 Average Delivered Rate2017 Average Delivered Rate0%SENDER SCORE BAND51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-10AVERAGE DELIVERED RATEBY SENDER SCORE BAND51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-1028%44%71%91%15%8%8%8%3%1%AVERAGE DE
30、LIVERED RATE BY SENDER SCORE BRAND92019 Sender Score BAfter passing the gateway(the delivered rate shown on the previous page),emails are then subjected to additional filters.These filtersincluding both reputation-based filtering and engagement-based filteringdetermine which folder each message is f
31、inally delivered to.As discussed previously,each mailbox provider has its own unique formula for evaluating reputation.Although,the factors that weigh into this analysis are generally the same.As a result of the different formulas,senders may experience different inbox placement rates at different m
32、ailbox providers.In the graph on the right,you can see the impact these different filtering formulas have on inbox placement rates at Gmail,Microsoft,Yahoo,and AOL.Its worth noting that each mailbox providers inbox acceptance generally increases with a higher Sender Score and better sending practice
33、s.50%25%100%51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-10AOL2018SENDER SCORE BANDGmail2018Microsof2018Yahoo2018AOL2017Gmail2017Microsof2017Yahoo201775%INBOX PLACEMENT RATE BY SENDER SCOREAT TOP FOUR MAILBOX PROVIDERSINBOX PLACEMENT RATEINBOX PLACEMENT AT THE TOP FOUR MAILBOX PROVIDERS102019 Sen
34、der Score BMicrosoft remained the hardest mailbox to reach in 2018 with even the best senders only reaching the inbox 72 percent of the time.Senders did see a slight increase in deliverability compared to the previous year with most bands seeing an increase in inbox placement rates.Senders saw sligh
35、tly higher inbox placement at Gmail,with the top senders managing an average inbox placement rate of 88 percent.Senders were more successful in reaching Gmail inboxes compared to the previous year,with increases ranging from seven to 27 percentage points.At Yahoo,the top senders had an average inbox
36、 placement rate of 88 percent.However,most senders found reaching Yahoo inboxes harder compared to the prior year with decreases ranging between one and five percentage points.AOL remained the easiest mailbox provider to reach,with the best senders achieving an average of 93 percent inbox placement-
37、although deliverability at AOL changed dramatically year over the year.AOL,which was acquired by Verizon Media Group,migrated its email filtering to Yahoo(also owned by Verizon Media Group)over the summer and fall of 2018.With a new filtering system in place,inbox placement rates at AOL decreased by
38、 four to 56 percentage points.The chart on the right shows that sender reputation filtering is still important in spam filtering algorithms.However,a high Sender Score on its own doesnt translate to higher inbox placement rates.Subscriber engagement,a mailbox providers own reputation calculations,an
39、d the content in the incoming messagenone of which are included in Sender Score calculationsall factor into each mailbox providers final filtering determinations.INBOX PLACEMENT AT THE TOP FOUR MAILBOX PROVIDERScontinuedINBOX PLACEMENT RATE BY SENDER SCOREAT TOP FOUR MAILBOX PROVIDERS51-6061-7071-80
40、81-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-10Microsoft 2017Yahoo 2017AOL 2017Gmail 201787%90%92%95%97%84%80%84%83%75%31%46%67%69%81%22%22%26%18%8%38%53%69%66%72%25%26%27%21%17%45%63%76%81%91%38%36%33%32%21%43%68%79%85%93%37%34%34%28%26%54%73%79%80%88%44%47%46%41%26%45%63%70%64%72%37%34%34%26%19%43%62%72%76%88
41、%36%39%36%31%22%51-6061-7071-8081-9091-10041-5031-4021-3011-201-10Microsoft 2018Yahoo 2018AOL 2018SENDER SCOREBANDGmail 2018112019 Sender Score BAVERAGE SENDER SCORE ANDINBOX PLACEMENT RATE BY INDUSTRYBANKING&FINANCE 91%93 92 1GENERAL MERCHANDISE 91%95 93 2DEALS&REWARDS 86%96 94 2HEALTH&BEAUTY 81%88
42、 90-2DISTRIBUTION&MANUFACTURING 89%92 90 2SERVICE 89%94 93 1SPORTING GOODS 84%96 95 1COMPUTERS&ELECTRONICS 89%94 94 0FLOWERS&GIFTS 83%95 95 0REAL ESTATE 84%94 93 1AUTOMOTIVE 86%94 94 0 INSURANCE 91%96 94 2JOBS 83%93 93 0MEDIA&ENTERTAINMENT 85%92 92 0SOCIAL&DATING 83%95 92 3TECHNOLOGY/SOFTWARE/INTERN
43、ET 87%93 91 2TELECOMMUNICATION 79%75 81-6BUSINESS&MARKETING 82%95 93 2EDUCATION/NONPROFIT/GOVERNMENT 81%93 93 0FOOD&DRUG 88%95 94 1APPAREL&ACCESSORIES 87%95 95 0HOUSEHOLD&HOME IMPROVEMENT 87%95 94 1KIDS&BABIES 86%95 95 0OFFICE SUPPLIES 87%93 93 0PETS 87%96 94 2TOYS/HOBBIES/CRAFTS 82%84 89-5TRAVEL 89
44、%94 93 1INDUSTRY 2017AVERAGESENDERSCORE2018AVERAGESENDERSCOREDIFFERENCE2018AVERAGEINBOXPLACEMENTRATETo help marketers evaluate their own email program against their peers,we dug into Sender Score performance by industry.The chart on this page shows the average Sender Score and inbox placement rate f
45、or more than 17,000 commercial senders,broken out by industry.As only legitimate commercial senders are included,these numbers provide a relatively accurate reflection of how each industry is performing.In 2018,most industries had average Sender Scores above 90,with deals and rewards,insurance,and p
46、ets achieving the highest average at 96.Telecommunication companies struggled with reputation,posting the lowest average Sender Score at 76.Most industries saw either no change or a slight increase in average Sender Score year over year.Health&beauty,telecommunication,and toys/hobbies/gifts were the
47、 only industries to have a decline in Sender Score,with telecommunications seeing the greatest decrease of six points.AVERAGE SENDER SCORE AND INBOX PLACEMENT RATE BY INDUSTRY Find more information about how to reach inboxes at the top mailbox providers in the Marketers Guide to Gmail,O,and Yahoo.12
48、2019 Sender Score BAs you can see,your reputation is a strong factor in your ability to reach the inbox.However,many elements can cause your reputation,and(as a result)your deliverability,to decline.To build and maintain a strong reputation,focus on the following:Keep your list clean The quality of
49、your list is a big factor for your reputation.Make sure you are routinely checking your list for unengaged users who may be spam traps in disguise.Run your list through a list validation service to make sure all your emails are owned by real people and check every new email you add to your list.Know
50、 all the blacklists and make sure you are not listed Blacklisting is another factor to mailbox providers filtering formulas and each mailbox provider uses different ones to different degrees.Make sure you know which blacklists are available and how to get delisted.And routinely check that your IP ad