Sender Score Footprint: Bigger is Better

By George Bilbrey
President

As we told you just before the new year, the Return Path team has been hard at work integrating new data sources into the scoring models that power our Sender Score. The updates are live and in all, we've increased the size of the Sender Score footprint by 25%!

More access to unique IP data means Return Path will be able to calculate Sender Scores for even more IPs. I'm proud to report that there will be very few scenarios where we won't be able to generate a score for an IP.

We're bigger but are we better?

With new data sources more is more - and more is better. We have more complete information on IPs so in the future you'll see less fluctuation in your Sender Score, assuming your mailing practices are consistent. Plus, with insight into twice as much email volume, we're able to generate more accurate and stable Sender Scores.

So, wherever you access your Sender Score, whether it's as a client via our Reputation Monitor system or as a visitor to our free reputation portal, senderscore.org, your result will be more accurate and comprehensive.

One program note, some mailers may find that their score has gone up or down, in some cases by as much as 20 points. There are two explanations: 1) our new data sources tell a more accurate story about your mailing practices - that is better or worse or 2) your mailing practices have changed or are different at our new data sources. Either way, view a score fluctuation as an opportunity to review your sending practices and gain a better understanding of how receivers view your email.

We're proud of these enhancements to the Sender Score, solidifying it as the foremost measure of email reputation. A more accurate score based on more comprehensive data means senders can know more precisely how their sending practices are affecting their reputation. And receivers get more assurance that decisions of how to handle mail based on Sender Scores are the right ones.