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Viewing a Spam Report

Iterable's Spam Report tests your email template against a set of spam filters commonly used by mailbox providers, as well as critical email authentication factors. The Spam Report displays a pass or fail result for each test, indicating whether your email contains factors likely to be flagged as spam.

TIP

Spam Filters aren't the only inbox placement factor.

Failures found by the spam filters don't necessarily mean that your email will bounce or land in the spam folder, but they do indicate the presence of factors that increase the likelihood of this happening.

When determining inbox placement, what matters most are sending practices and user engagement. For optimal send performance and inbox percentage, consider both your email setup and deliverability practices.

For more information and actionable steps to improve your email deliverability, inbox placement, and campaign performance, read Maximizing Email Deliverability.

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Viewing a Spam Report

You can create a Spam Report for any email campaign or template during the campaign review process.

Viewing a Spam Report for a campaign

To generate or view the Spam Report for a campaign, follow these steps:

  1. In Iterable, go to Messaging > Campaigns.
  2. Click the campaign you want to review.
  3. On the Design page, click the Preview button.
  4. Click the three dots to the right of the Send Proof button.
  5. Click Spam Report.

Viewing a campaign Spam Report

Viewing a Spam Report for a template

To generate or view the Spam Report for a template, follow these steps:

  1. In Iterable, go to Content > Templates.
  2. Click the template you want to review.
  3. On the Design page, click the three dots to the left of the Preview button.
  4. Click Spam Report.

Viewing a template Spam Report

Running a Spam Report

For new campaigns or templates, the tests should run automatically.

For old campaigns or templates, click Regenerate Spam Report to initiate the filter tests.

The tests usually take at least 20 minutes to run, but some tests may take longer. You can close the Spam Report window and return later to view the results.

The Spam Report is valid for 90 days. After that, you must regenerate the report to view the results.

Example of a Spam Report

Tests included in the Spam Report

The Spam Report tests your email against a specific set of filters and email authentication factors. These tests are designed to mimic the behavior of mailbox providers and help you understand how your email might be treated by spam filters.

Each filter test is run independently using standard defaults. This report is powered by our partner, Email on Acid.

Currently, the Spam Report includes the following tests (subject to change):

  • AOL: B2C mailbox provider

  • Cloudmark: B2B spam filter

  • DKIM: DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) authentication

  • Gmail: B2C mailbox provider

    TIP

    For additional insight about Gmail performance, consider setting up Google Postmaster Tools. To learn more, see Monitoring Gmail Deliverability with Google Postmaster Tools.

  • Outlook 2003: B2C mailbox provider

  • Outlook 2007: B2C mailbox provider

  • Outlook 2010: B2C mailbox provider

  • Outlook 2013: B2C mailbox provider

  • Outlook 2016: B2C mailbox provider

  • Outlook 2019: B2C mailbox provider

  • Outlook.com: B2C mailbox provider

  • Spam Assassin: Open-source spam filter

  • SPF: Sender Policy Framework (SPF) authentication

  • Symantec Messaging Gateway (formerly Brightmail): B2B spam filter

  • Yahoo: B2C mailbox provider

Understanding the Spam Report

The Spam Report is a useful tool to provide a sneak peek of how a spam filter would respond to the content of your message. However, it isn't a definitive test of whether your email will land in the inbox or spam folder.

Inbox providers don't give much insight when a message is placed in the spam folder. Whether your email gets to the inbox is entirely controlled by the mailbox provider (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc.) and is determined by their proprietary algorithms.

However, there are some steps you can take to optimize your inbox placement.

Addressing Spam Report failures

There could be many different reasons why a template failed a specific test.
Spam filter tests provide only a pass or fail result. If your template fails a test, you should review your message to identify potential issues.

Here are some common causes of spam filter failures:

  • Email content
  • Blocklists
  • Authentication
  • Spam complaints

To learn more about how to address these issues, see Troubleshooting Email Deliverability.

Want to learn more?

For more information about some of the topics in this article, check out these resources. Iterable Academy is open to everyone — you don't need to be an Iterable customer!

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