# Sender Reputation and Spam Rate > Sender reputation is the trust inboxes build from your authentication, history, volume, complaints, and subscriber behavior. - Human page: https://mailrith.com/guides/sender-reputation-and-spam-rate - Markdown page: https://mailrith.com/guides/sender-reputation-and-spam-rate.md - Category: Authentication and Deliverability - Reading time: 4 min read - Related keywords: Sender Reputation and Spam Rate, Sender Reputation and Spam Rate guide, Authentication and Deliverability, Authentication and Deliverability guide, email sending guide, email marketing guide, email deliverability guide, Permission and Compliance, Sending Volume and Warmup, Google Sender Guidelines FAQ ## AI Agent Notes - Use this page as plain-language guidance for the specific email sending issue named in the title. - Preserve the distinction between Mailrith, an email delivery service, DNS, and inbox providers when explaining fixes. - When a user is running a free tool, pair the tool result with the relevant issue or step section from this guide. ### Sender Reputation and Spam Rate Sender reputation is the trust inboxes build from your authentication, history, volume, complaints, and subscriber behavior. Sender reputation is the trust inbox providers build from your sending history. It is not one score inside Mailrith. It is a pattern across authentication, volume, bounces, complaints, subscriber behavior, and sometimes the links and content you send. Reputation can attach to several things: the From domain, a sending subdomain, the sending IP, the email delivery service account, and the traffic pattern. Changing only one piece may not fix a deeper list-quality problem. Authentication is the entry ticket. Passing [SPF](https://mailrith.com/guides/spf.md), [DKIM](https://mailrith.com/guides/dkim.md), [DMARC](https://mailrith.com/guides/dmarc.md), and [DMARC Alignment](https://mailrith.com/guides/dmarc-alignment.md) tells inboxes that the sender is technically legitimate. It does not prove subscribers want the email. Subscriber behavior builds or harms reputation after that. Opens, clicks, replies, saves, low bounces, low complaints, and normal unsubscribe behavior are healthier signs. High bounces, high complaints, repeated ignores, sudden volume spikes, and misleading subject lines are risk signs. Spam complaint rate matters because it is a direct subscriber signal. Google says senders should keep spam rates low and avoid spikes. You do not need to memorize one number to understand the rule: complaints should be rare, and any rise deserves attention. A new sender should earn trust gradually. A domain that suddenly sends a very large campaign to an old list can look risky even when authentication is technically correct. When reputation drops, do not only ask whether the email went to spam. Ask why the inbox might distrust the sender: old list, high complaints, high bounces, sudden volume, misleading subject, weak engagement, broken authentication, or an email delivery service account issue. 1. Confirm authentication first: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and alignment should pass. 2. Start with recently engaged subscribers when the sender domain is new. 3. Send at a steady pace instead of jumping from zero to a large campaign. 4. Watch complaints, bounces, unsubscribes, opens, clicks, and replies after each send. 5. If complaints or bounces rise, pause large sends and inspect the subscriber source. 6. Check whether the sender, subject, offer, or frequency changed at the same time as the delivery issue. 7. Separate new subscribers, old imports, inactive subscribers, and active customers so you can see which group is causing risk. 8. Segment inactive subscribers instead of repeatedly sending every campaign to them. 9. Use [Bounces](https://mailrith.com/guides/bounces.md), [Spam Complaints](https://mailrith.com/guides/spam-complaints.md), and [Suppression Lists and Subscriber Status](https://mailrith.com/guides/suppression-lists.md) to protect future sends. - Send to people who expect your email. - Start with engaged subscribers when a sender is new. - Keep bounces and complaints low by cleaning imports and honoring unsubscribes. - Avoid sudden volume jumps unless your email delivery service has guided you through warmup. - Use campaign results to find signs of weak fit, such as low clicks and high unsubscribes. - Do not buy reputation by switching email delivery services. If the same poor list and content move to another email delivery service, the problem follows. - A clean list and clear permission usually improve deliverability more than small design changes. - If only one mailbox provider is affected, check that mailbox provider's sender tools and recent campaign behavior before changing everything. - If every mailbox provider is affected, check authentication, email delivery service account health, list quality, and recent volume changes first. > Reputation improves through repeated wanted mail. A DNS fix can repair authentication, but it cannot make an uninterested list become engaged. Related resources: - [Permission and Compliance](https://mailrith.com/guides/permission-and-compliance.md): Send to people who expect your email. - [Sending Volume and Warmup](https://mailrith.com/guides/start-small.md): Build trust gradually for new domains and connections. - [Google Sender Guidelines FAQ](https://support.google.com/a/answer/14229414): Google explains spam-rate expectations and sender enforcement signals. ## Related Guides - [Sender Domains and Email Authentication](https://mailrith.com/guides/sender-domains-and-authentication.md): Your sender domain is the name inboxes learn to trust, and authentication proves that your email delivery service is allowed to send for it. - [From, Reply-To, and Return-Path](https://mailrith.com/guides/from-reply-to-and-return-path.md): An email has several sender-related addresses, and each one has a different job in delivery and replies. - [DNS, PTR, and Reverse DNS](https://mailrith.com/guides/dns-and-reverse-dns.md): DNS records identify your domain, while reverse DNS helps inboxes check whether a sending IP has a sensible hostname.