What builds and breaks it
Reputation rises with authenticated, wanted mail that earns opens and replies, and falls with spam complaints, high bounce rates, spam-trap hits, and volume spikes from a cold domain. It is tracked per domain and IP, so one bad campaign can tax everything you send afterward.
How to protect it
Authenticate with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, warm the domain, verify lists to keep bounces low, and design first emails to earn replies. Reputation is slow to build and fast to burn, which is why deliverability is a discipline, not a setting.
Common questions
What affects sender reputation?
Authentication, recipient engagement (opens and replies), spam complaints, bounce rates, spam-trap hits, and sending volume patterns. Providers track it per domain and IP.
How do you fix a damaged sender reputation?
Stop sending to bad lists, fix authentication, reduce volume and warm back up gradually, and rebuild engagement with clean, wanted mail. Recovery is slow, so prevention matters more.