A blocklist is a publicly available source of information about an email sender that identifies a sender with an issue. This list usually corresponds to an inbox audience who will block incoming email traffic from that sender.
Blocklists come in many varieties and their effects and causes are widely varied. Some are far more severe than others.
- SpamHaus – SpamHaus is the largest and most widely subscribed to blocklist and provides real-time anti-spam protection.
- SpamCop – Another widely used blocklist that is primarily made by reports from its user base.
- Other RBL lists – There are over 230 other “real-time block lists” (RBL).
Causes and Effects
There are several ways to be placed on a blocklist, listed below by typical impact and range. There is some chance of inappropriate blocklisting, but as methods improve this is increasingly rare.
| Cause | Explanation |
| Spam Trap triggering | Many blocklists have various “Spam Traps” spread across the internet. These traps can be a real email that the user has long since left, but the blocklist provider or ISP left on to track Spam; or they can be an email that was created for the sole purpose of catching marketers who scrape emails or buy/rent lists from a third-party vendor to use in commercial emailing. This is the most common reason for a blocklisting, and usually has the most negative effect. |
| Reported Spam (Unsolicited Commercial Mail) | Depending on a sender’s and receiver’s location, Unsolicited Commercial Mail (UCM) is illegal in many jurisdictions. The email industry has decided that these emails are no good overall, and those that send them will be harmed in both reputation, and with the possibility of being added to blocklists. Generally, low reputation or reports generated by end users cause these listings due to UCM. |
| Phishing | Phishing is regarded as the most dangerous type of spam. Any attempts to mislead consumers with subject lines, content or from messages can be regarded as phishing. Blocklists for these events are very damaging to reputation. |
| Complaint Rate | If a complaint rate (spam complaints/volume) reaches a certain level with some ISPs, a blocklist can trigger. These triggering events usually coincide with a general degradation of reputation at all ISPs and an increase in spam placement. |
| Admin Spam Trap | If during a UCM someone sends to the admin of a spam trap list, they can also place you on the blocklist listing. |
| Technical Issues | Ignoring a proper technical setup and attempting to send repeatedly will cause a blocklisting. |
| SEO/Domain Reputation | If the reputation of a domain tied in some way to an email sender hits a low point, their email IP or domain can also be put on a blocklist. |
There are several effects that a blocklisting can cause. IT departments and Postmasters of domains often subscribe to blocklists, and if a domain is listed they will reject mail. Other ISPs and domains also use listings on the RBL to determine things like inbox placing. Google and other search companies figure blocklistings on domains into their SEO calculations.
Blocklist Ranges
There are 3 'ranges' of a blocklist: domain, IP, or IP Subnet (neighborhood).
- Domain blocklistings only initially affect traffic on one domain, or emails tied to that domain.
- This can reach further than expected – if you send an email referencing a blocklisted domain, your inboxing and delivery will also be affected.
- Act-On does not monitor clients for domain blocklistings, unless a sender is subscribed to our Enhanced Deliverability Services.
- Single IP listings generally only affect traffic coming from one IP address.
- These are the most common blocklistings in email.
- Any Act-On customer will have their IPs monitored for blocklistings, whether in the general monitored shared environment or using Enhanced Deliverability Services and a dedicated IP.
- IP Subnet listings are the rarest type, but they have the most devastating effects to email senders and Email Service Providers.
- These blocklists affect all the IPs on the subnet (neighborhood) in chunks of 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, or 256.
- Act-On monitors all our IP assets for these listings.
Hidden BlockLists
As well as public blocklists, there are also more hidden blocklists. These blocks are frequently triggered by reputation issues and can be tied to a public blocklisting. Some examples of blocklists are: Cloudmark, Proofpoint, Mimecast, Gmail, AOL, Microsoft, etc.
These lists are harder to combat and often require the help of a deliverability expert to diagnose and deal with on a long-term basis.