Docs/Deliverability/Reputation recovery playbook

Reputation recovery playbook

Updated Mar 26, 2026 · 6 min read

When a domain or mailbox loses reputation, here is the path back.

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Hour 0 - pause and triage
Day 1-3 - investigation
Day 4-14 - resume slowly
Day 14+ - confirm recovery

Reputation damage is recoverable, but the path matters. The wrong response makes it worse. Here is the protocol we use internally and recommend to customers facing placement collapse.

Hour 0 - pause and triage

Pause the affected mailbox or domain immediately.

Inspect the last 7 days of campaigns - bounce rate, complaint rate, list source.

Check blacklist status across all six monitored blacklists.

Check Postmaster Tools for explicit Gmail signal.

Day 1-3 - investigation

Identify the root cause - list quality, sending volume, content trigger, or compromise.

If list quality, run the entire list through ZeroBounce or MillionVerifier and remove all invalid addresses.

If sending volume, the sending tool likely exceeded the 20/day per-mailbox cap during a campaign launch.

If compromise, rotate credentials immediately and audit recent logins.

Day 4-14 - resume slowly

Resume sending at 30% of pre-incident volume.

Ramp back to full volume over 7 days, monitoring placement daily.

Send only to known-good addresses (existing engagers from prior campaigns).

Day 14+ - confirm recovery

Confirm primary placement is back above 85% for 5 consecutive days before resuming new-list outreach. If it has not recovered after 30 days, the domain is usually cheaper to replace than to keep fighting.

A retired domain is sometimes cheaper than continuing to fight a damaged one. Plan domain rotation as part of normal operations, not just emergency response.

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