Google blocking emails

[bazzjazz]

Hey - First post here...

I have a VPS and I host client websites on it. In the past few weeks I have had three clients tell me that emails they are sending to Gmail accounts are not being delivered. They are not getting any bounce emails telling them the reason.

The various domains in question, and my server IP address, are not blacklisted on any of the main systems as I have run them through various checks successfully (Succurri, Mxtoolbox etc...) and the sites are not hacked (They are mostly Wordpress sites).

Is there a way of checking a website/mail status specifically with Google in relation to these emails not getting through?

Thanks for any advice.

Barry

 

[DanielN]

If your e-mail is received by other than Google than the issue is Google itself.
If they don't even arrive at Spam you will most likely have to start using an SMTP service like SMTP2GO or others.
Another solution is to route your e-mail through another small VPS with Clean IP.
I often suffer from this issue as well, but my e-mails at least arrive in the spam folder.
When you buy a VPS you really have to make sure your provider guarantees that the IP is not blacklisted or blocked anywhere. Very few providers actually guarantee this but there are a few.
I hope this helps.

 

[Marc van Leeuwen]

I have a VPS and I host client websites on it. In the past few weeks I have had three clients tell me that emails they are sending to Gmail accounts are not being delivered. They are not getting any bounce emails telling them the reason.

The various domains in question, and my server IP address, are not blacklisted on any of the main systems as I have run them through various checks successfully (Succurri, Mxtoolbox etc...) and the sites are not hacked (They are mostly Wordpress sites).

Is there a way of checking a website/mail status specifically with Google in relation to these emails not getting through?

I have ever faced same problem when all my emails sent to my subscribers, they sent to spam folder on their gmail. The problem is I used Gmail account to setup configurations on sending emails out from my website.
You can fix this problem by telling them using domain like [email protected] and recheck SPF & DKIM for their email accounts.

 

[bazzjazz]

If your e-mail is received by other than Google than the issue is Google itself.
If they don't even arrive at Spam you will most likely have to start using an SMTP service like SMTP2GO or others.
Another solution is to route your e-mail through another small VPS with Clean IP.
I often suffer from this issue as well, but my e-mails at least arrive in the spam folder.
When you buy a VPS you really have to make sure your provider guarantees that the IP is not blacklisted or blocked anywhere. Very few providers actually guarantee this but there are a few.
I hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply, the emails do seem to be going to the Spam folder, though most recipients do not seem to check it! The IP address I am using is clean according to most checked I have done. One of the affected clients called me to day to say his emails are getting through fine now, but it does seem sporadic. I'm trying to talk him into using Office365 for his emails!

I have ever faced same problem when all my emails sent to my subscribers, they sent to spam folder on their gmail. The problem is I used Gmail account to setup configurations on sending emails out from my website.
You can fix this problem by telling them using domain like ... and recheck SPF & DKIM for their email accounts.

I will check SPF and DKIM records immediately, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Hostens]

Hostens

This will be a long-shot but if some e-mails from your VPS pass through the filter used on Google side and some does not, maybe the issue is related with the contents of the e-mails? Have you or your customers tried to send identical e-mails to a 3rd party e-mail checker that would provide insights on the reputation of the e-mail sent? Such tools might help indicate if specific keywords or links placed in the body of the e-mail, as well as check on SPF DKIM and other records of the domain.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

This could have nothing to do with your IP addresses. Check with your hosting company to see if emails are ACTUALLY being sent out directly from your VPS or if they are being sent from a different server the hosting company uses to send emails.

If they are using a central email server, it could be a spammer on another VPS at the hosting company that is causing the problem.

 

[bazzjazz]

bazzjazz

Definitely being sent from my VPS as I have checked, thanks. I checked SPF records as per Marc's suggestion above and it was missing, so I have added it to the client domains and advised them to keep an eye on read receipts to see if this helps, which it should.

 

[Rob Whisonant]

Rob Whisonant

Have you setup feedback loops with all the major ISP email providers? That can alert you of problems about to happen.

 

[bazzjazz]

bazzjazz

Hey Rob, that's beyond my level of knowledge I am hoping the SPF records will resolve the problem, but if not I might revert to you for more info if you don't mind.

 

[zomgmike]

Google does not use third party block lists in determining spam email. They use their own in-house system. I would recommend the following steps towards resolution:

1. Make sure you've got all your email settings correct on your server. Something like a bad MX record is a ticket to the spam folder.
2. Make sure you're following best practice (like number of emails per hour) and legal limitations. All the advice in the world won't help you if you're spamming.
3. Check for bounces. A 550 error would be a good sign your IP or domain have been blacklisted.
4. None of that working? Give them a shout. I don't have enough posts to provide the link, but if you google ""Report a delivery problem between your domain and Gmail" msgdelivery" it seems to be the first result for me.

 

[bazzjazz]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

It looks like the problem was a missing SPF record as once I corrected this and informed the client I have heard nothing from him, which is always a good sign!