Domain Authority

What is Domain Authority?

In email marketing, domain authority refers to the reputation score that mailbox providers (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) assign to your sending domain. This score determines whether your emails reach the inbox, spam folder, or get blocked entirely.

Domain Authority Spectrum:

Score Range	Status	Impact
90-100	Pristine	Emails "more welcome than pizza at midnight"
80-89	Strong	Excellent inbox placement
70-79	Good	Generally reliable delivery
60-69	Fair	Some filtering occurs
Below 60	Poor	Major deliverability issues

Note: This is different from SEO "Domain Authority" (Moz metric). In email, domain authority is specifically about sender reputation.

Why Domain Authority Matters

Domain authority is the primary factor determining your email deliverability. No matter how great your content, emails from low-authority domains won't reach the inbox.

Direct Impact:

• Inbox Placement: High authority = primary inbox delivery
• Spam Filtering: Low authority = automatic spam filtering
• Sending Limits: New domains can only send limited volumes
• Response Rates: Poor placement destroys open and reply rates
• Warmup Duration: New domains need 14-21 days to build authority

Gmail's 2024 Changes: Gmail now more aggressively filters emails from domains without established authority, making reputation management critical.

Benchmarks

Metric	Good	Warning	Critical
Domain Reputation Score	85-100	70-84	Below 70
Inbox Placement	87%+	80-87%	Below 80%
Spam Complaints	<0.1%	0.1-0.3%	>0.3%
Bounce Rate	<2%	2-5%	>5%

Authority Building Timeline:

• Day 1-7: Limited sending, building initial reputation
• Day 8-14: Gradual volume increase, monitoring engagement
• Day 15-21: Near-normal volume for established senders
• Day 22+: Full authority achieved (if metrics stayed healthy)

Best Practices

1. Warm Up Gradually: Start with 5-10 emails/day, increase slowly
2. Monitor Engagement: High engagement builds authority faster
3. Keep Bounces Low: Every hard bounce damages reputation
4. Use Consistent Volume: Sporadic sending looks suspicious
5. Separate Domains: Use different domains for marketing vs. transactional
6. Authenticate Properly: SPF, DKIM, DMARC required for authority
7. Check Reputation Regularly: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools

Common Mistakes

• Sending high volume from new domains immediately
• Ignoring spam complaints until reputation is damaged
• Mixing email types on one domain (cold + marketing)
• Not tracking domain reputation scores
• Letting bounce rates climb above 2%
• Buying email lists (guaranteed authority killer)
• Not implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Assuming new domains have same authority as established ones

Key Takeaways

• Domain authority is your email sender reputation score (0-100)
• 85+ is good, 90+ is excellent for deliverability
• High authority = primary inbox placement; low = spam folder
• New domains need 14-21 days warmup to build authority
• Every hard bounce and spam complaint damages authority
• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication is required for authority
• Monitor your score regularly using Google Postmaster Tools
• Authority takes months to build and days to destroy

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Sources:

• Email Domain Reputation Mistakes - Instantly.ai
• Sender Score - Email Marketing Education