Google Takes a Swing at Email Spam

We all hate spam, right? We're not talking about the kind you get in a can, although that's a bit on the shady side, too.

We're talking about the annoying stuff you get in your email every day without fail. You could spend the rest of your life blocking and unsubscribing, and it wouldn't stop.


But, hey, Google to the rescue.

That's right, Google is taking a swing at spammers and hoping to knock it out of the park. The big question is, will we get caught in the middle?

The tech messiah plans to require anyone who sends more than 5,000 emails a day to follow their new protocol, and if not, there will be some consequences.

Google says it won't send your emails to their recipients without you validating your profile. This is to help prevent malicious attacks and other threats that could be lurking somewhere.

To ensure these new Google protocols don't interfere with your business, whatever it is, Google has made a few suggestions that can help.

First, authenticate, authenticate, authenticate. Let Google know you're the real deal. You can do that by following the best practices set forth by Google, including setting up SPF or DKIM for your domain.

Second, make it easy to unsubscribe. Provide a one-click unsubscribe button and process the request within two days.

Third, ensure you send emails people want in an effort to avoid having them listed as spam. The goal is to keep your spam rate below 0.3%. There are applications you can use to help you find out your spam score. Heck, it might even be worked into your own server somewhere.

"These practices should be considered basic email hygiene, and many senders already meet most of these requirements," Google says.

Google states that after it started requiring that emails sent to a Gmail address have some form of authentication, they've seen the number of unauthenticated messages Gmail users receive plummet by 75%, decluttering inboxes and blocking billions of malicious messages. Now, they hope to take it a step further with this new policy.

Google said that industry partners like Yahoo are gearing up to implement some of the same safeguards, showing unity across the board for making email more pleasant and safe for all.

Google plans to start enforcing the new policy in February 2024, which gives you more than enough time to start getting ready. The good news is, if you're paying attention to those things mentioned above, you'll probably be in the clear.

So, to avoid getting stuck in the pipeline (or rather, getting your emails stuck), ensure you get all your ducks in a row for the February kick-off.

It doesn't matter if you fly solo or you're part of a huge brand blasting away those emails in an effort to bring in new customers, you don't want to get caught up in the pipeline. That's a huge mess that could cost you time and money.

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