What is inbox placement?

Inbox placement refers to where your email actually lands after a mailbox provider accepts it. Getting "delivered" only means the server took the message. Placement determines whether recipients see it in their primary inbox, spam folder, or a secondary tab like Promotions or Updates.

This distinction matters enormously. A message in spam might as well not exist. Delivered but invisible is the silent killer of email marketing.

Inbox placement is influenced by sender reputation, engagement history, content signals, and authentication. It varies by provider, by recipient, and even by time of day. Two identical messages can land in different places for different users at the same provider.

Think of delivery as your ship reaching the harbor. Placement determines which dock you are assigned. The main pier or the restricted cargo hold.