Navigating Google's new spam updates: a recruiter's guide to staying out of email purgatory

Here’s the thing: When it comes to email outreach, change is the only constant. But for recruiters, email is a tried-and-true way of getting in front of both candidates and potential clients alike — which means staying on top of changing regulations is critical. The latest shift comes from Gmail, with its crackdown on spammers — or those who may accidentally be acting like them. These updates aim to reduce spam and enhance user experience — but what exactly do these changes entail, what do they mean for you as the sender, and how can recruiters adapt to ensure their emails don't end up lost in spam folders forever? Take this quiz to see if your behaviors may be making you look suspicious to Google, or simply keep scrolling to learn more about which behaviors to avoid. Let's dive in!

The ins and outs of Google’s 2024 spam crackdown

Google's updated email spam requirements aim to reduce deceptive (or simply unwanted) email practices that detract from user experience. Some specific behaviors that may be punished under these requirements include:

• Lack of authentication: Failure to implement proper authentication protocols can result in emails being flagged as spam. Recruiters must ensure their domains are authenticated using mechanisms like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify sender legitimacy.

→ QUICK TIP: In this article, we keep things fairly high-level and simple (avoiding getting into the technical nitty-gritty of all of those crazy acronyms listed above). If you prefer a more technical breakdown, we picked the brain of our CTO and co-founder, Ilia Cheishvili on these email changes & their implications here.

• Difficulty in unsubscribing: Emails that make it challenging for recipients to unsubscribe or opt-out of future communications are likely to face penalties. Google explicitly emphasizes the importance of clear and accessible unsubscribe options so that users can easily manage their email preferences.

→ QUICK TIP: A lot of people are afraid to make obvious unsubscribe buttons, because they’re afraid it will make readers more likely to follow that path. However, rather than trying to make it difficult for disengaged recipients to unsubscribe, perhaps we should keep in mind that generally readers don’t want to unsubscribe from communications they find helpful, relevant, and tailored to them.

• Deceptive messaging: Misleading or deceptive email content, including false sender information or misleading subject lines, can lead to emails being marked as spam. As important as it is to find ways to stand out in crowded inboxes, it’s equally important for recruiters to ensure their messaging accurately reflects the content and purpose of the email to maintain trust with recipients.

→ QUICK TIP: Rather than trying for flashy methods of getting recipient attention, instead focus that creative energy on segmentation and targeting — so that you’re delivering highly relevant content to the right audience.

• High spam or bounce rates: Excessive spam complaints, a high proportion of emails being marked as spam, or a large number of bounces (emails sent to unverified or nonexistent inboxes) can signal poor sender reputation to Google and result in deliverability issues. Maintaining a low spam rate, ideally below 0.03%, is essential to avoid being penalized by Google's spam filters. This requires a commitment to both 1) having verified contact information and 2) crafting emails that have clear & intentional value to the recipient.

→ QUICK TIP: Monitoring spam levels through tools like Google Postmaster can help identify and rectify potential issues before they escalate.

• Irrelevant content: Sending mass emails with generic or irrelevant content that doesn’t resonate with recipients' interests or preferences may lead to reduced engagement and increased spam reports. Do you send out a job to every single candidate in your database, regardless of whether they’re a good fit for the position? Focusing on personalization and audience segmentation will help you deliver meaningful content where it matters most — reducing the likelihood of you being marked as spam.

→ QUICK TIP: Bulk emailers sending over 5,000 emails daily (from the same domain, not just one email address) are the most suspicious in Google’s eyes. Being intentional and specific with every send is a step in the right direction toward compliance. We recommend a ceiling of 100-200 emails a day to help validate contact information & make contact, without the risk of large penalties.

By adhering to these guidelines and prioritizing user experience, recruiters can maintain their sender reputation and good standing with Google — and ensure their emails reach the intended recipients' inboxes. Which is, uh, kind of the whole point of sending emails, right?

What happens if Google thinks you’re spammy?

If recruiters fail to comply with Google's requirements, it could put their domain health (and their general reputation) at risk. While exact repercussions remain unclear (because Google loves a good fear-inducing mystery, apparently), the general consensus among those educated in matters like these is that remediation processes (aka getting your domain back in good standing) can be rather demanding and time-consuming.

So what does this mean for recruiters?

Let’s not miss the overarching point here: These new (harsher) regulations may seem scary and limiting — but we must keep in mind that the goal is to promote transparency, relevance, and user empowerment, which are all objectively good things! Amidst all of the changes, delivering relevant, meaningful content to your audience — the kind of content that they want to engage with, rather than send to a spam folder — is key, just like it’s always been. Perhaps recruiters can look at these new spam updates as an opportunity rather than a major headache: Are your open rates where you want them to be? Completely satisfied with your response rates? If so, send us a message, because we’d like to hear what’s working for you. But for those who feel like their email strategy has room for improvement — now is a great time to refine your approach to delivering valuable content to both candidates and prospects. Not just so that you can avoid having a bad reputation, but so you can continue to develop a really good one. At Loxo, we emphasize time and time again that modern recruitment is built on TRUST and RELATIONSHIPS. That’s why our Talent Intelligence Platform was designed with the long-game in mind, helping you build trust with every interaction.

• Personal contact information: Loxo Connect sources personal contact information from a variety of public sources to give you broader and more accurate data than any other provider on the market. Of course, the nature of public data is that it can change quickly — so you’ll always want to verify contact information is up-to-date before sending to avoid deliverability issues and other negative implications.
• Multi-touch outreach: Loxo Outreach helps you diversify your outreach in ways that naturally reduce the tendency to over-email. Send emails, texts, phone calls, LinkedIn messages, etc. all through our platform — through multi-step campaigns that you build in advance.
• Outreach tailored to the job: Loxo Outreach GPT is the only LLM designed specifically for recruiters — helping you craft personalized messages to candidates and clients that are tailored to the specific job. Personalization is more than just a first name in a subject line, and our outreach tool helps you drive engagement without relying on spammy tactics.
• Reports that help you improve: The data insights found within Loxo Reports can hold the key to improving your strategy — and with the ability to gauge outreach performance, you can continue to refine your strategy and see better results.

Have questions about how to ensure you’re not at risk of being seen as a spammer in Google’s eyes? Customers can feel free to reach out to support@loxo.co for more information.