Sender Score, provided by Validity, measures your email sender reputation based on your IP address sending behavior. Think of it as a credit score for email. This guide explains what different scores mean and how to interpret your results.
Score Ranges Explained
| Score Range | Rating | Expected Inbox Placement |
|---|---|---|
| 90-100 | Excellent | 95%+ inbox placement |
| 80-89 | Good | 90-95% inbox placement |
| 70-79 | Fair | 80-90% inbox placement |
| 50-69 | Poor | 50-80% inbox placement |
| Below 50 | Critical | Below 50% inbox placement |
What Affects Your Score
Spam Complaint Rate
The percentage of recipients who mark your email as spam. This is the most damaging factor. Keep complaints below 0.1% for good scores.
Unknown User Rate
Bounces from invalid email addresses. High rates indicate poor list hygiene. Target below 2% bounce rate.
Spam Trap Hits
Sending to addresses designed to catch spammers. Any spam trap hit significantly damages your score.
Sending Patterns
Consistent, predictable sending helps your score. Sudden volume spikes look suspicious.
Blocklist Presence
Being listed on major blocklists severely impacts your score.
How the Score Is Calculated
Sender Score uses a 30-day rolling average of your sending behavior. This means:
- Recent behavior weighs more heavily
- Improvements take 2-4 weeks to fully reflect
- A single bad incident can quickly drop your score
- Recovery requires sustained good practices
Score vs. Actual Deliverability
Sender Score is an indicator, not a guarantee. A high score does not ensure inbox placement because:
- Individual mailbox providers have their own reputation systems
- Content and engagement also affect filtering
- Domain reputation matters alongside IP reputation
However, a low Sender Score reliably predicts deliverability problems. It is an early warning system.
Improving Your Score
Clean Your List
Remove bounced addresses, inactive subscribers, and role accounts. Better list quality means fewer complaints and bounces.
Make Unsubscribing Easy
Recipients who cannot unsubscribe mark you as spam instead. Prominent unsubscribe links protect your score.
Send Relevant Content
Engaged recipients do not complain. Segment your list and send targeted content that matches subscriber expectations.
Monitor and React Quickly
Check your score regularly and investigate any drops immediately. Quick action prevents small problems from becoming large ones.
Shared vs. Dedicated IPs
Sender Score is calculated per IP address:
- Shared IPs: Your score reflects all senders on that IP. Bad neighbors hurt you.
- Dedicated IPs: Your score reflects only your behavior. You control your destiny.
High-volume senders typically use dedicated IPs for this reason.