Gmail launched its Postmaster site in July 2015, which has offered valuable tools and data to help qualified, high-volume senders analyse their email performance. This site provides comprehensive reports on various aspects, including domain and IP reputation, spam rates, delivery errors, and authentication.
Before you start
Things you need to know:
You must have a Gmail email account or Google workspace account.
Sender reputation
It's crucial you follow Gmail's Bulk Sender Guidelines to maintain a positive reputation.
Verify your account
To verify your account with Google Postmaster:
Log in to your Google account and go to: https://postmaster.google.com.
Select GET STARTED.
Enter your domain and select NEXT.
To verify ownership of your domain, copy the TXT record provided by Google and add it to your DNS records.
Learn how to access your DNS records.
Return to Google Postmaster and select VERIFY.
Once the DNS records have been properly published, you'll see the domain status change to Verified in Google Postmaster Tools.
If your DNS is delegated to Dotdigital, submit a request by filling out this Google Postmaster Tools request form for your Dotdigital custom from address domain, and we'll handle the setup for you.
Troubleshooting
If the TXT record is not found during verification, double-check that it was added correctly to your DNS records and try again. If you encounter issues with adding the TXT record, Google provides an alternative verification method involving a CNAME record.
Dashboards
Once approved and data begins to sync to your domain, you can access several dashboards. These dashboards, (except for the Encryption dashboard), display traffic that has passed Sender Policy Framework (SPF) or DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) authentication:
Dashboards | Description |
Spam Rate | Displays the volume of user-reported spam versus inbox-delivered email, focusing on DKIM-authenticated messages.
Gmail recommends keeping spam rates below 0.1% and avoid ever reaching a spam rate of 0.3% or higher. |
Domain and IP Reputation | Offers insights into whether Gmail's spam filter may flag email from specific domains or IPs as spam. |
Feedback Loop (FBL) | Shows spam rate if you have implemented Gmail's FBL, particularly useful for identifying high complaint rates.
Data from the Gmail FBL is visible on the dashboard when the complaint rate exceeds 0.5%. |
Encryption | Highlights TLS-encrypted traffic. |
Delivery Errors | Provides details on blocks and temporary failures. |
Compliance status | Monitors senders’ compliance with Gmail’s email sender requirements. |
For more information on these reports, see Gmail's page: Getting started with Postmaster Tools.
Data
Data can be displayed for various timeframes, including the last 7, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. The maximum data retention period is 120 days, and there is currently no option for custom date ranges.
Postmaster Tools uses Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).