Google just announced the launch of Gmail Postmaster Tools to help senders of emails that people actually want do better at avoiding spam filters and actually get their messages seen by the recipient.
The company says it is to help qualified high-volume senders analyze their email, as it includes data on delivery errors, spam reports, and reputation so they can diagnose “hiccups,” as well as study best practices and help Gmail “route their messages to the right place.”
“Gmail users get lots of important email from companies like banks and airlines—from monthly statements to ticket receipts—but sometimes these wanted messages are mistakenly classified as spam,” product manager Sri Harsha Somanchi says in a blog post. “When this happens, you might have to wade through your spam folder to find that one important email (yuck!). We can help senders to do better, so today we’re launching the Gmail Postmaster Tools.”
Google is also using technology developed for search and Google Now to improve its spam filtering. It will now use an artificial neural network to detect and block spam that could pass for wanted mail. It will also use machine learning to learn preferences for email newsletters, and react accordingly.
In other words, if user has subscribed to a newsletter, but never wants to read it, it sounds like it might hit the spam folder more frequently. Email marketers, now would be a good time to work on improving your open rates.
The spam filter is also getting better at rooting out email impersonations, according to Google. It’s using machine learning for this as well.
“The Gmail team is always working hard to make sure that every message you care about arrives in your inbox, and all the spam you don’t want remains out of sight,” says Somanchi. “In fact, less than 0.1% of email in the average Gmail inbox is spam, and the amount of wanted mail landing in the spam folder is even lower, at under 0.05%.”
The company thinks its new features will improve these numbers even more.
The addition of Postmaster Tools could prove to be a very valuable tool for businesses having deliverability issues. It’s nice to see that Google isn’t just cranking up its spam-fighting efforts while leaving legitimate email marketing completely in the dark.
Image via Google