Free IP & Domain Blacklist Checker

How does an email blacklist work?

Email blacklist services track your domain reputation. Spamming your email list with too many messages or emailing invalid addresses will result in spam complaints and email bounces.

Additionally, emailing users that did not opt-in to receive your content can prompt spam complaints, which may place you on an email blacklist.

Email blacklist is an abbreviation of real-time blackhole list (RBL) or DNS blacklist (DNSBL). Blacklists are present at the domain level, an email blacklist, and at the internet service provider (ISP) level, an IP blacklist. Both assist in spam prevention to protect everyday email users.

If you find yourself on an email blacklist or IP blacklist, you can expect your emails to bounce and your email deliverability to decline.

Why am I on an email blacklist?

Your email domain or IP can end up on an email blacklist or IP blacklist for numerous reasons.

Too many spam complaints impacted your domain reputation

Email users can report any email as spam with a couple of clicks.

However, you increase the likelihood of building a poor domain reputation if you email users too frequently or submit low-quality, off-topic content. Your email list contacts will inform their domain provider that they’re receiving spam, which becomes a spam complaint.

Spam prevention standards are strict. The industry average for acceptable spam complaints is 0.1% or 1 in every 1,000 emails. Anything higher negatively impacts domain reputation and email deliverability, which can land you on an email or IP blacklist.

Spoofers compromised your email domain or IP

If you unexpectedly appear on any email blacklists or IP blacklists when using the blacklist checker, your domain may be at risk.

Spammers and spoofers target vulnerable domains to spread viruses and carry out their phishing scams. Once they do, you end up on an email blacklist to help other domains and internet providers in spam prevention.

Your email list has users who did not subscribe

Like sending too many messages, users will report spam if they do not sign up for your content.

Be careful where and how you obtain new leads for your email list. Buying an email list might net you some valid email addresses, but there’s a high likelihood of spam complaints if they’re unfamiliar with your company.

Additionally, those lists likely get sold many times over, making it more likely for those emails to be invalid or high-risk. Spam complaints and bounces impact your domain reputation and email deliverability before landing you on an email blacklist.

Your IP was previously on an IP blacklist

Sometimes you can end up on an IP blacklist or email blacklist for no reason. The cause is generally that the previous IP owner was guilty of spammy email practices or sending malware to innocent users.

It’s not a fair scenario, but you’ll need to communicate with your ISP and IP blacklist services to inform them of the change.

Your domain reputation also includes your website

You can find yourself on an IP blacklist if your website appears low-quality or spammy.

Your pages might have irrelevant, low-quality content, exhibit high bounce rates, or have a stockpile of backlinks from untrustworthy, spammy websites.This all factors into your domain reputation and can land you on an IP, email, or even a website blacklist.

When should I use an email blacklist checker?

Companies should frequently use an email blacklist checker to stay up-to-date with their domain reputation. Blacklist monitors are affordable, run daily, and automatically notify you of unwanted events.

However, be on the lookout for unusual activity, including

• Sudden or unusual increase in email bounces
• A sharp decrease in email open rate
• Spam complaint rates exceeding 0.1%

These are indicators of problems with your email deliverability and domain reputation. You can use the free blacklist checker to determine if you’re on an email blacklist or an IP blacklist. Then, investigate your sending practices closely to preserve your email deliverability.

How do I remove myself from an email blacklist?

To remove yourself from an email blacklist or IP blacklist, follow the steps below.

1

When using the email blacklist checker, look for URLs with the “Listed” status. Then, you can follow the URL, look up your domain or IP, and discover why you’re on the blacklist.

2

Use the information to clean your email domain of unwanted users, malware, or viruses.

If you’ve yet to do so, implement additional email security methods such as email authentication (SPF, DMARC, or DKIM) to demonstrate your spam prevention efforts.

Each email blacklist case is unique, and the remedy can involve anything from virus removal to reconfiguring your email server. You can attempt to contact the blacklist service for more information.

3

You can submit a removal request once you’re confident you’ve resolved the issue and have proof of your spam prevention efforts.

Most IP blacklist and email blacklist sites will have a featured section for these requests. Check out 0Spam’s dedicated removal request link for reference.

It’s important to note that while most IP blacklist or email blacklist providers will honor requests, they are not obligated to do so.

Instead, you must actively protect your domain reputation and email deliverability with proper email security and spam prevention tactics.