In today's digital age, email has become an essential communication tool, both for personal and professional purposes. It is estimated that the number of email users worldwide is over 4 billion, and this number is expected to increase in the coming years. For businesses, email marketing has become a crucial aspect of their digital marketing strategy, allowing them to reach a wider audience and generate more leads.

In this blog, we will dive deeper into the importance of email deliverability and the role of email verification in improving it. We will explore the benefits of using email verification services, how they work, and the different types of email verification methods available. By the end of this blog, you will have a better understanding of email deliverability and how email verification can help businesses improve their email marketing campaigns.

The Types of Email Verification

Verification is the process of confirming the accuracy and validity of data or information. In the context of email communication, there are different types of verifications that can be carried out to ensure that messages are delivered successfully to the intended recipients. Here are the explanations of four types of verifications:

Syntax verification

Syntax verification is the process of checking the format of an email address to ensure that it is valid and correctly structured. It involves analyzing the email address and verifying that it follows the correct syntax rules, including the use of characters, symbols, and domain names. Syntax verification checks the email address for common mistakes such as missing or incorrect characters, spaces, or special characters.

Domain verification

Domain verification is the process of checking the domain name of an email address to ensure that it is valid and exists. It involves verifying the existence and validity of the domain name in the email address by checking the domain's DNS records. This ensures that the email address is not a fake or non-existent domain and that messages can be delivered successfully to the domain's mail servers.

SMTP verification

SMTP verification is the process of checking the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server associated with an email address to confirm that it exists and is operational. It involves testing the email address by sending a test message to the SMTP server and waiting for a response. If the SMTP server responds positively, it confirms the validity of the email address, and messages can be successfully delivered to the recipient.

Mailbox verification

Mailbox verification is the process of checking the existence and accessibility of an email account associated with an email address. It involves sending a test message to the email address and waiting for a response from the recipient's mailbox. If the mailbox responds positively, it confirms that the email account is valid and accessible, and messages can be delivered successfully.

How Email Verification Improves Email Deliverability

Email verification is the process of validating the accuracy and authenticity of an email address before sending out emails. This verification process involves a series of checks to ensure that the email address is valid and active. Implementing email verification can significantly improve email deliverability and the overall effectiveness of email marketing campaigns. Here are three ways in which email verification can improve email deliverability:

Decreased bounce rates

Email verification helps to decrease bounce rates by ensuring that email addresses are accurate and up-to-date. Bounce rates occur when emails are sent to invalid or inactive email addresses, resulting in those emails being returned to the sender. High bounce rates can negatively impact sender reputation and lead to emails being marked as spam. By implementing email verification, marketers can reduce bounce rates, increase inbox placement, and improve deliverability.

Increased sender reputation

Email verification helps to improve sender reputation by ensuring that emails are sent to legitimate and active email addresses. When emails are sent to inactive or invalid email addresses, it can negatively impact sender reputation, leading to emails being flagged as spam. Email verification helps to maintain a high sender reputation by ensuring that emails are only sent to legitimate email addresses, which can lead to increased inbox placement and improved deliverability.

Increased engagement

Email verification can also increase engagement by ensuring that emails are delivered to the intended recipients. When emails are sent to inactive or invalid email addresses, it can result in a lower engagement rate as fewer people receive the email. By implementing email verification, marketers can ensure that emails are only sent to active and valid email addresses, which can lead to increased engagement and a higher return on investment.

Implementing Email Verification

Implementing email verification requires choosing the right email verification provider, integrating email verification into your email system, and following best practices for email verification.

Choosing an email verification provider

When choosing an email verification provider, there are several factors to consider, including accuracy, speed, and cost. Accuracy is crucial as it determines how many invalid email addresses are identified and removed from your list. Speed is important as it determines how quickly the verification process is completed. And the cost is a consideration as it can vary between providers.

Some popular email verification providers include Bounceless, Mailtester, and EmailListValidation, each provider has its own strengths and weaknesses, so it's important to evaluate them based on your specific needs.

Integrating email verification into your email system

Once you've selected an email verification provider, integrating it into your email system is the next step. this typically involves adding a step to your email list acquisition process to verify email addresses before they are added to your list.

Some email verification providers offer integrations with popular email marketing platforms such as Mailchimp, Constant Contact, and Campaign Monitor. If your email system doesn't have an integration available, you may need to work with a developer to set up a custom integration.

Best practices for email verification

One of the most important things you can do to ensure your email campaign goes smoothly is to follow best practices when it comes to email verification. Here are some tips to help you out:

• Verify your entire email list: It's important to make sure you don't skip the verification process for any portion of your email list. Even if you've acquired the list from a reputable source, there may still be invalid email addresses that could harm your sender reputation.
• Verify emails in real-time: Don't wait until you're ready to send your email campaign to start verifying email addresses. It's best to verify emails as soon as they're acquired to ensure accuracy and avoid sending emails to invalid email addresses.
• Remove invalid email addresses: After verification, make sure to remove any invalid email addresses from your list. This will help to ensure accurate metrics and maintain a good sender reputation.
• Monitor email engagement: Keep an eye on email engagement metrics like open rates and click-through rates. This can help you identify potential issues with your email list and improve your email marketing efforts.
• Keep your email list clean: Regularly perform email verification to keep your email list up-to-date and clean. This can help you maintain a good sender reputation and increase email deliverability.

Conclusion

In conclusion, email verification is a crucial step that can help improve the effectiveness of email marketing campaigns. By verifying email addresses, businesses can ensure that they are sending messages to real people, rather than non-existent or inactive email accounts. This helps to reduce bounce rates, improve deliverability, and protect sender reputation.

Furthermore, email verification can also help businesses avoid legal issues that may arise from sending messages to invalid or inactive email addresses, such as violating anti-spam laws or being marked as spam by email providers.

Therefore, it is highly recommended that businesses implement email verification as part of their email marketing strategy. By doing so, they can increase the chances of their messages being delivered to their intended audience and improve their overall email marketing performance.

In order to implement email verification, visit Mailtester and get full advantage of the email verification service. It helps you quickly and easily check email addresses for validity and provide a report on their status.

So, if you want to improve your email deliverability and ensure that your email marketing campaigns are effective, it is time to take action and implement email verification today.