How the heck do you check your email reputation?!

You've probably seen an iteration of this question or asked it yourself: "How do I tell what my deliverability score is?".

What seems like an easy inquiry is deceptively complicated to answer. Sure, there are sites you can visit to check your domain or IP reputation if you really want a grade. Problem is, that score doesn't necessarily reflect what mailbox providers (MBPs) are using to inform their decisions, nor does it give you any specific guidance on what to change or maintain.

Each MBP calculates its own version of your reputation as they see it, so there's not just one score but several. It's possible to have a positive reputation at Gmail but not at Comcast, or to hit the inbox consistently at Yahoo, but get bulked at Hotmail. An average score can disguise a glaring issue that affects just one provider, or highlight minor variables that have no discernible impact on your results.
Since MBPs don't actually furnish a score, you'll have to gauge your reputation by reviewing the following, ideally per-domain or provider:

🚚 Delivery Rate: This should be close to 100%. If under 98% of mail is being delivered to a particular domain/provider, dive into your bounce logs to review the rejection reasons. Low deliveries can be a sign of a mounting reputation problem.

🏀Bounce Rate: Both temporary (often referred to as "soft") and permanent (generally called "hard") failures can contribute to and/or indicate a diminishing reputation. Among other reasons, soft bounces may mean that you're being blocked by a particular provider. Hard bounces tend to denote that there's a data quality issue, either during subscription or due to a lack of ongoing list hygiene. Risk tolerance varies, but bounce rates (either soft or hard, or both) over 2% are worth investigating.

😡 Complaint Rate: Complaints are extremely damaging to your reputation due to being the strongest negative feedback that recipients can provide. Perpetually under-reported since Gmail, iCloud, and more don't use traditional FBLs to facilitate complaint reporting, a healthy complaint rate should not exceed 1 complaint per 1,000 emails sent. Low complaints aren't always cause for celebration; if coupled with a low open rate, assume that most of your mail is going to the spam folder—a hallmark of diminished reputation.

📭 Open Rate: Most useful as a directional metric, the "open" rate is more like a "pixel load" rate. An open event may not mean that a human being laid eyes on your email, but it's probable that the message did at least hit the inbox, where images are often automatically loaded, triggering the "open". Opens are far from being obsolete, providing valuable insight for segmenting and sunsetting. A higher open rate tends to point to higher inbox placement and a better reputation with that MBP. Don't get complacent, though. A high open rate in tandem with elevated complaints can portend a reputation decline, so stay vigilant! 👀