Yahoo! is the most popular internet service provider in the U.S. (it places third worldwide). So, it can’t be ignored when it comes to email deliverability. To improve delivery at Yahoo!, here are a few best practices for you to follow:
-Authenticate with SPF and DKIM. This will help Yahoo! properly identify your email streams and prevent spammers from masquerading as your company using a false domain.
-Sign up for Yahoo! Mail Feedback Loops. Feedback loops give you access to complaint data. This not only helps you identify issues with your email program, but also gives you access to the email addresses that reported your mail as spam so you can proactively remove them from your list. If you are a SendGrid customer, you can use our flexible APIs to take care of the removal automatically.
-Apply for Yahoo’s Bulk Sender Program. Yahoo's bulk sender program is a solution that helps identify you as a legitimate, reputable sender and it improves delivery.
-Send from the same address. Yahoo! prefers that you use a consistent "From" address, so avoid A/B testing from multiple mailstreams.
-Add the List Unsubscribe header. One-click unsubscribe is now standard operating procedure for ISPs. Therefore, you must include it in every email you send to avoid being flagged as spam.
Probably one of the most important factors that goes into Yahoo! email delivery is subscriber engagement. That means you need to be much more focused on list hygiene and response. Therefore, remove bad email addresses, complainers, and hard bounces immediately. You can't afford to have inactives on your list since low response rates will negatively affect your delivery. Focus your efforts on generating relevant content that will get opens and clicks. Think about email cadence and frequency and mix promotional content with educational content. You’ll have to find the right mix to elicit a positive response, but now it’s more important than ever to do so with Yahoo! recipients. The good part is that these practices will benefit your program across the board at all ISPs.
For a full list of Yahoo! best practice recommendations, click here. You can also download our email deliverability guide to get a detailed overview of standard best practices that will benefit you at all ISPs.
