Bounces

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Bounces

What is a bounce?

A bounce occurs when an email message cannot be delivered to a recipient's inbox. For instance, if you have an automation that sends 100 messages to various contacts, each message takes a unique path to the inbox. Here is a simplified technical conversation that happens during the delivery process:

• ActiveCampaign: Hello, Gmail
• Gmail: Hi
• ActiveCampaign: We have a message for Joe
• Gmail: Okay, great, give us that message, and we'll pass it along to Joe!

This process typically takes only a few milliseconds. However, if the email address does not exist, the conversation would look like this:

• ActiveCampaign: Hello, Gmail
• Gmail: Hi
• ActiveCampaign: We have a message for Bill
• Gmail: Bill doesn't have a Gmail account. That account doesn't exist. Goodbye.

In this case, Gmail informs us that the email address is invalid, resulting in a bounce.

Why are bounces important?

Bounces are significant for email deliverability. A sender with a high bounce rate is likely using outdated lists. Regularly sending messages to invalid accounts can lead inbox providers, like Gmail, to classify your emails as "risky," resulting in them being sent to the spam folder.

To mitigate this, ActiveCampaign automatically marks contacts that hard bounce as "bounced," preventing them from receiving further messages.

Why are my messages bouncing?

Common reasons for message bounces include:

• The address doesn't exist (Hard Bounce): These bounces have a code that begins with 5xx. It's normal to encounter a few of these as inbox providers deactivate accounts that have not been used for extended periods.

• Temporary bounce (Soft Bounce): These bounces have codes beginning with 4xx or 5xx and can occur due to temporary issues like a full mailbox or brief server outages. If three temporary bounces occur consecutively for a contact, they will be marked as "bounced" as if they had hard bounced.

• Reputation: High spam complaints can lead inbox providers to block your emails based on poor sending reputation.

• Message content: Emails containing blocked phrases, links, or images can be bounced.

• Authentication issues: As of February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require all senders to set up DKIM and DMARC for their domains. Lack of authentication can lead to bounces.

• Issues with DKIM key: Problems with your public DKIM key can cause bounces.

• Restrictive DMARC record: A strict DMARC record can lead to legitimate messages being bounced. A p=reject record will cause all messages to bounce if DKIM is not set up.

• Invalid "From email" address: Using a disallowed "From email" address can result in bounces.

• Auto-bounced bad email addresses: ActiveCampaign automatically bounces certain contacts identified as bad addresses.

I see a spike in my bounce rate. What happened?

A spike in bounce rates often indicates that a list of contacts, which may contain many inactive email addresses, has been introduced. Review your lists to ensure they do not include old contacts.

Additionally, certain phrases or links in your message may have triggered spam filters. If your bounce rate spikes due to high spam complaints, this usually resolves itself if you maintain a low complaint history.

How can I reduce my high bounce rate?

To maintain a low bounce rate, consider the following practices:

• Use a double opt-in with your subscription form: This helps eliminate invalid email addresses and ensures that contacts genuinely want to receive your communications.

• Add a Captcha to your form: This prevents bots from creating spam contacts.

• Send communications at regular intervals: Regular communication helps keep your list active and reduces the likelihood of bounces.

• Set up Engagement Management automations: Use automation to tag contacts based on their engagement with your communications.

• Use real-time verification services: Services like Briteverify can help identify bounces at the time of sign-up.

I have a valid contact that bounced. Why did that happen?

If a valid contact bounces, it may be due to the recipient's inbox provider blocking the message for various reasons. This temporary issue should resolve itself if the contact is indeed valid.

In rare cases, a misleading bounce code may indicate an invalid address when it is not. If you believe a bounced address is valid, contact the ActiveCampaign Customer Experience Team for assistance. Note that only the Customer Experience Team can adjust a hard bounce; resubscribing a hard bounced contact manually will not update the address.

See Also

What is a bounce and how can I prevent them? ```