Domain reputation vs IP reputation#
They're related but distinct.
IP reputation is per-sending-IP. New IP → no history → blocked or filtered until you've sent enough clean volume.
Domain reputation is per-sending-domain (the part after @). New domain → no history → similar filtering.
A typical scenario: you've sent from mail.example.com for years (high domain rep). You add a new sending IP (low IP rep). You need to warm the IP, but the domain rep helps — Gmail is forgiving of a high-rep domain on a new IP.
Reverse case: well-established IP (your shared SES IP), but new domain. Gmail's per-domain reputation engine sees newdomain.com as unknown. Throttles or filters.
Both must be healthy for inbox placement.
Why a fresh domain takes 30-60 days#
ISPs aggregate signals over time:
- Days 1-7: Almost no domain rep data. Most mail goes to Spam by default.
- Days 7-21: Engagement signals build (opens, click-throughs). Reputation climbs.
- Days 21-45: Domain rep stabilizes. Inbox placement improves.
- Days 45-60: Mature domain rep. Normal sending volume sustainable.
Sending too much from a fresh domain on Day 5 → recipients mark as spam → spam-rate spike → reputation drops permanently → start over with a different domain.
Subdomain strategy#
Best practice: send marketing from a subdomain, NOT from your main brand domain.
brand.com → corporate/transactional (low volume)
mail.brand.com → marketing
news.brand.com → newsletters
notify.brand.com → transactional (password resets, etc)
Why subdomains?
- Reputation isolation — bad marketing campaigns don't damage your brand's primary domain rep
- Different policies — easier to set distinct SPF/DKIM/DMARC per use case
- Cleaner recovery — if
mail.brand.com gets hit, you don't lose the brand domain
- Customer-side targeting — recipients can whitelist
mail.brand.com without whitelisting everything else
In AcelleMail, configure each subdomain as a separate sending domain. The Sending → Sending domains screen lists every domain you've registered with status chips and authentication state:
Click into a domain row to see its full detail: SPF / DKIM / DMARC records to publish at your DNS host, current verification status per check, and the per-domain DKIM keypair fingerprints:
Verify SPF/DKIM/DMARC per subdomain. The Verify-domain workflow in this view shows you exactly the DNS records to copy-paste into your DNS host's TXT/CNAME panel.
Per-domain warmup curve#
Day-by-day volume on the new domain:
| Day |
Daily volume |
Engagement target |
| 1 |
200-500 (engaged 7d only) |
>30% open rate |
| 3 |
1,000-2,000 |
>25% open rate |
| 7 |
5,000-10,000 |
>20% open rate |
| 14 |
20,000-30,000 |
>15% open rate |
| 21 |
50,000+ |
>12% open rate (B2C average) |
| 30 |
100,000+ |
Normal segment baseline |
| 45 |
Full volume |
Normal segment baseline |
| 60 |
Same |
Mature domain rep |
If engagement target is missed, hold or step down. Engagement is the leading signal for domain rep.
Authentication is non-negotiable#
A fresh domain MUST publish SPF / DKIM / DMARC from Day 0:
Open the sending-server detail#
In AcelleMail's sidebar, click Sending → Sending servers. The list shows every server connected to this account with its status chip, sending limit, and last activity:
Click into the row you want to configure. The detail page surfaces Connection settings (host / credentials), Configuration (server name, default from, sending limit, bounce + FBL handler), and the Test connection / Send test email buttons in the toolbar:
The auth chips on the server detail show real-time status:
All three Green = receiving servers can trust messages from your domain. Any Red → critical block, no warmup will succeed until fixed.
SPF — TXT record at root yourdomain.com:
v=spf1 include:amazonses.com include:_spf.mailgun.org ~all
(Include the sending vendors you use.)
DKIM — CNAME records as shown in your sending-server setup wizard.
DMARC — TXT at _dmarc.yourdomain.com:
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]
Start with p=none (monitor mode) for first 30 days. Move to p=quarantine then p=reject as auth pass rates settle above 99%.
Cross-reference with Postmaster Tools#
Once Google Postmaster Tools is set up for your domain, the domain reputation panel shows your build-up:
Day 7: Domain Reputation: Low
Day 21: Domain Reputation: Medium
Day 45: Domain Reputation: High
If you see Domain Bad at any point, something broke:
- Authentication failures (auth panel <95%) → re-verify
- Spam rate >0.3% → audit content + list
- Volume spike → step back
See Gmail Postmaster Tools walkthrough for the dashboard setup.
Common UI signals + fixes#
| Symptom |
Likely cause |
UI fix |
| Domain shows in Google Postmaster but no data |
Volume too low (<1000/day to Gmail) |
Send more Gmail-segment volume; data appears after 7-14 days |
| Domain Reputation Bad on Day 7 |
Authentication failing OR content content-trigger spam |
Re-verify in AcelleMail; audit recent campaign content |
| Domain Reputation Low even after 30 days |
Sending too much too fast |
Step back to 30-day baseline; rebuild engagement |
| Authentication pass <95% in Postmaster |
DKIM key mismatch or rotation failure |
Check DKIM CNAMES at DNS host; re-verify in AcelleMail |
| All metrics fine but inbox placement still <70% |
Likely content + frequency issue, not domain rep |
Audit subject lines + send cadence; consider engagement-only segments |
| Subdomain rep separate from main brand |
Working as designed |
This is good — isolated reputation is the safe pattern |
Advanced: BIMI for verified brand display + DMARC enforcement progression + multi-subdomain strategy
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) lets your verified domain show a logo next to your messages in Gmail (US), Yahoo, Apple Mail, others. Requires:
- DMARC at
p=quarantine or p=reject
- SVG-formatted logo published at your domain
- VMC (Verified Mark Certificate) from Entrust or DigiCert (~$1500/yr per domain)
BIMI doesn't directly boost reputation, but the trust signal does. Recipients see a verified logo → click-through rates rise ~10-15%.
DMARC enforcement progression:
Day 1: p=none, rua=mailto:[email protected]
(Monitor mode; receivers report SPF/DKIM failures)
Day 30: Confirm 99%+ pass rate via aggregate reports
Day 45: p=quarantine; failing emails go to Junk
Day 60: Confirm still 99%+ pass rate
Day 90: p=reject; failing emails are bounced
The progression is conservative for a reason — if you jump to p=reject while your DKIM is broken, you reject your own legitimate mail. Stage carefully.
Aggregate DMARC reports (free, from receiving servers) are XML files. Parse them via:
# DMARC report XML reader
zcat aggregate.xml.gz | grep -E "<source_ip|<count|<disposition" | head -20
Tools like dmarcian.com or postmarkapp.com/dmarc parse + visualize for you.
Multi-subdomain strategy at scale:
For SaaS operators with multiple brands:
Customer A: ┌── mail.customerA.com (their marketing)
└── notify.customerA.com (their transactional)
Customer B: ┌── mail.customerB.com (their marketing)
└── notify.customerB.com (their transactional)
Each subdomain warmed independently. Customer A's reputation problems don't bleed to Customer B.
In AcelleMail's admin: configure per-customer Sending Plans + per-plan Sending Domains. Each customer sees only their own subdomains.
Domain rotation for reputation recovery:
If a domain gets hit irreversibly, retire it. Move to a fresh subdomain:
old-mail.brand.com (poisoned) → Disable
new-mail.brand.com (fresh) → New warmup cycle, day 1
Update all signup forms + DNS + AcelleMail server config to point at the new subdomain.
Spam trap exposure:
Spam traps are addresses ISPs use to detect bad senders. Hitting them = severe reputation damage. Common trap categories:
- Recycled traps — once-real addresses that haven't been used in years; ISPs repurpose them
- Pristine traps — never-real addresses created specifically to catch bad senders
- Honeypots — addresses posted publicly to catch scrapers
Avoid by:
- NEVER buy lists
- Use double opt-in (cleanest signal)
- Run email verification before importing
- Use AcelleMail's bounce log to identify pattern-matching traps (often 5.7.x with specific reason text)
Domain reputation in the wild — measurement tools:
- Google Postmaster Tools (primary signal)
- SNDS (Outlook-specific signal)
- mxtoolbox.com → "Email Health"
- mail-tester.com → 0-10 score for a specific message
- DMARC aggregate reports
Use 2-3 signals; no single tool tells you everything.
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