This is a problem I’ve helped dozens of clients troubleshoot. They’re sending quotes, proposals, and follow-up emails, and hearing nothing back. Not because the client isn’t interested, but because the email landed in junk and was never seen.
Email deliverability — whether your emails actually reach the inbox — is something most small business owners don’t think about until it’s causing them to lose work. Here’s what’s going wrong and how to fix it.
The Most Common Causes of Emails Going to Spam
Your Domain Has No Email Authentication Records
This is the number one cause I see. When you send an email from yourname@yourbusiness.co.za, receiving mail servers check whether your domain has authorised that sending server. If it hasn’t, the email looks suspicious — even if you’re completely legitimate.
The three records you need set up in your domain’s DNS settings:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — tells receiving servers which mail servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — adds a digital signature to your emails that verifies they haven’t been tampered with in transit
- DMARC — tells receiving servers what to do if an email fails the SPF or DKIM checks, and gives you visibility into who is sending email using your domain
If these aren’t configured, Gmail, Outlook, and most corporate mail filters will treat your emails with suspicion. Your hosting provider’s support team can help you set these up, or we can do it as part of a site setup.
You’re Sending From a Shared or Blacklisted IP
Basic shared hosting puts hundreds of businesses on the same mail server. If any of those businesses have been flagged for spam, the entire IP address can end up on blacklists — and your completely legitimate emails get caught in the same net.
The fix: use a dedicated email sending service like Google Workspace, Zoho, or a transactional mail service like SendGrid or Mailgun for business-critical emails.
Your Email Content Is Triggering Filters
Spam filters score your email content before deciding where to put it. Things that raise the score include: too many links, certain words and phrases associated with spam, images with very little text, and emails that are mostly one large image with no text.
For business emails: write plainly, avoid excessive formatting, don’t use deceptive subject lines, and don’t attach large files unnecessarily.
How to Check If Your Emails Are Being Flagged
Mail-tester.com is a free tool that lets you send a test email and see exactly what score your email is receiving and why. It will show you missing authentication records, content issues, and blacklist status. It takes about two minutes and is often the fastest way to diagnose the problem.
The Bigger Picture
Your email deliverability is tied to your domain’s reputation, which builds over time. A new domain sending a high volume of emails immediately after registration looks suspicious to mail filters. Build gradually, keep your authentication records in order, and respond when people reply to you — these behaviours signal that you’re a legitimate sender.
If you’re having ongoing email problems and need someone to diagnose and fix the configuration, this is something we handle regularly. It’s usually faster and cheaper to fix than people expect.
