The Deliverability Ledger · Blacklists · 3 posts
Blacklists, and how to get off them
How to tell if you are listed, why IP and domain blacklists catch different things, and what SURBL listings mean for cold email.
All 3, newest first
- SURBL Declares War on Cold Email: Why 90% of Domains We Tested Are Already BlacklistedWe pulled live data on 2,679 active cold-email sending domains and checked every one against SURBL's Multi blacklist. 90% came back listed. The pattern behind who gets hit isn't what most senders assume.
- IP Blacklists vs. Domain Blacklists: Why You’re Probably Checking the Wrong OneMost senders worried about blacklists are checking the wrong thing entirely: wrong IP, wrong list type, or both. Here's how IP and domain blacklists actually work, which ones matter for B2B cold email, and how to find the IP that really got you listed.
- Email Blacklist Check: How to Know If You’re Blacklisted (and How to Fix It)If your domain or sending IP is on a blacklist, your emails are being filtered or rejected. Here's how to check, which lists matter, and how to get delisted.
Other topics
- DeliverabilityThe signals inbox providers weigh, what each SMTP code and bounce type means, list hygiene, warm-up, and the numbers to measure yourself against.
- MicrosoftThe 550 and 421 errors Microsoft returns, how Exchange Online Protection scores a message, SNDS and JMRP, and how to get off the Outlook blocklist.
- GoogleThe Gmail bounces senders hit most (421 4.7.0, 421 4.7.28, 550 5.7.26), the bulk sender requirements, Postmaster Tools, and the way back out of the spam folder.
- AuthenticationSetting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC step by step, and choosing between a quarantine and a reject policy.
- YahooThe two refusals Yahoo and AOL send most, 421 [TSS04] for complaints and 554 5.7.9 for policy, and how to clear each.
- Cold EmailGetting cold outreach into the inbox without burning the domain it is sent from.
- ReputationThe usual reasons a sender reputation drops, and how to rebuild it.
Consulting
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