What are the components of email reputation?

Email reputation is built from multiple signals that mailbox providers weigh together to decide whether your messages deserve the inbox or the spam folder.

The core components include authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment), IP reputation (the history of the sending server), domain reputation (the trustworthiness of your sending domain), engagement signals (opens, clicks, replies, and forwards), and complaint rates (how often recipients mark your mail as spam).

Providers also consider list quality by watching for bounces and spamtrap hits, and they track sending patterns to detect suspicious volume spikes or irregular behavior.

Think of reputation as your vessel's combined inspection record. The harbor master checks your flag, your cargo manifest, your past voyages, and what other ports say about you before deciding where to dock your ship.