Definition
A deliverability score gives you an at-a-glance assessment of how likely your emails are to reach the inbox. It combines multiple signals that ISPs use to evaluate senders, weighted by their relative impact on inbox placement.
Typical Components
- Authentication score: Whether SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured
- Reputation score: IP and domain sending history
- Engagement score: Open and click rates relative to industry benchmarks
- List health score: Bounce rate, spam complaint rate, and list freshness
- Infrastructure score: Reverse DNS, proper MX records, and sending consistency
Why It Matters
Tracking a single deliverability score is simpler than monitoring ten individual metrics. A declining score triggers investigation before serious inbox placement problems develop. Many ESPs and deliverability platforms provide automated scoring.
Related Glossary Terms
A/B Testing
A/B testing in email marketing is the practice of sending two variations of an email to a small sample of your list to determine which version performs better before sending the winner to the remaining subscribers.
Abandoned Cart Email
An abandoned cart email is an automated message sent to customers who added items to their online shopping cart but left without completing the purchase. It is one of the highest-converting email types in ecommerce.
AIDA Model for Email
The AIDA model (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) is a classic copywriting framework used to structure email campaigns that guide subscribers from awareness to conversion.
AMP for Email
AMP for Email is a Google-developed framework that allows email messages to include interactive elements like forms, carousels, accordions, and live content. It turns static emails into dynamic, interactive experiences directly inside the inbox.
Anchoring Effect in Email Marketing
The anchoring effect is a cognitive bias where the first piece of information presented (the anchor) influences subsequent decisions, used in email to frame pricing and value perception.
Announcement Email
An announcement email is a dedicated campaign that communicates a specific update, milestone, or change to subscribers, from product launches and feature releases to company news and events.