Overview
This article provides steps you can take if you find your IP address is listed on a spam blacklist.
Background
If you're seeing that sent or received emails, especially within the same domain are landing in a spam folder, it may be due to your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) blacklisted IP address. DreamHost's spam filters are designed to mark emails as spam when they originate from a blacklisted IP address.
Looking up your IP address
These steps confirm if your IP is on a blacklist.
- Visit whatismyipaddress.com to look up your current home IP address.
- Use the following sites to check if your IP address is on a blacklist:
- Contact your ISP (the company providing you with internet access) if your IP address is listed. They should then be able to assist with steps you can take to remove it.
What if my IP address is not on a blacklist?
If your IP address is not blacklisted, create a support ticket in your DreamHost panel. Make sure to copy the headers of the message that ended up in your spam folder and paste it into the ticket for support to review for you.
Additional troubleshooting
This section offers a few troubleshooting steps to prevent your email from being marked as Spam.
Third-party email providers
If your domain is using a third-party email provider but using DreamHost's DNS, make sure you have configured the correct custom SPF records.
Sending email from your website
If you are sending email from your website and those messages are going to spam, make sure the email is authenticated via SMTP:
- WordPress: You can use a plugin such as WP Mail SMTP to send SMTP-authenticated emails.
- PHP: If your site uses the PHP mail function, you can configure it to use SMTP via PHPMailer.
- Other CMS: If your site uses a CMS other than WordPress, it may have built-in support for SMTP authentication. Refer to your software's support documentation for more information.
Making your email look less like Spam
There are several things you can do when creating an email to make it appear less like Spam. The following articles give you a few ideas of what to do, or what to avoid when sending an email.
- 7 Tips To Stop Your Emails From Getting Marked As Spam
- How to keep your marketing emails out of the spam box
- A Marketer's Guide to Email Deliverability: How to Avoid Email Spam Filters