GoDaddy Emails Going to Spam? Reasons & How to Solve

If you have email hosted with GoDaddy and experiencing the frustrating issue of emails ending up in your recipient’s spam folder, we’re here to help.

This issue can negatively impact your business or personal communication, as important emails may not be seen by the intended recipient.

However, there are several steps you can take to solve this problem and ensure that your emails are delivered to the recipient’s inbox.

In this article, I cover the following topics:

  1. Understanding the email spam filter
  2. Verify your domain authentication records
  3. Check your email content for spam triggers
  4. Check your IP address for blacklisting
  5. Use a dedicated IP address
  6. Configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records
  7. Update your GoDaddy email settings
  8. Send a test email and checking where it lands
  9. Avoid the use of spam trigger words
  10. Personalize your emails
  11. Ask your recipients to whitelist your email address
  12. Contact GoDaddy support for assistance
  13. Conclusion
  14. FAQ’s

Understanding the email spam filter

Email providers use spam filters to identify and filter out unwanted emails, such as phishing attempts, spam, and emails with suspicious content.

These filters analyze various factors, including the sender’s email address, the email’s subject line and content, the sender’s domain authentication and reputation, and the recipient’s engagement with the sender’s emails.

Verify your domain authentication records

To prevent your emails from going to the spam folder, it’s important to verify the presence of email domain authentication records.

This involves verifying if you have SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records set up, which help email providers authenticate the sender’s identity.

Use the Check My Domain tool found on the homepage of our website.

Web form interface for checking domain availability, including fields for name, email, and domain, with a red "check my domain" button
Check My Domain tool on homepage of Hello Inbox

Check your email content for spam triggers

Your email content can trigger spam filters if it includes certain words or phrases commonly used in spam emails.

Therefore, it is essential to check your email content for spam triggers before sending them.

You can use online tools such as Mailmeteor’s Spam Checker, which analyzes your email content and provides a spam score.

Screen capture of a "spam checker" tool analyzing an email letter with scores marked for words like "shady", "urgency", and "overpromise". The user interface is clean and visually indicates spam risk levels.
Free spam checker tool by Mailmeteor

Check your IP address for blacklisting

If your sending IP address has been blacklisted, your emails may be flagged as spam by email providers.

So it’s important to check your IP address for blacklisting and take appropriate measures to remove it from blacklists.

Use these tools to check your domain and IP address against known spam blacklists to see if you’ve been blacklisted.

Use a dedicated IP address

If your GoDaddy shared IP address have been blacklisted, consider using a dedicated IP address which can help improve email deliverability.

Using a dedicated IP address isolates your IP reputation from other GoDaddy customers and provides a consistent sender reputation.

Web hosting companies generally charge an extra fee for dedicated IP addresses.

Configure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records

SPF records specify which IP addresses are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain, while DKIM records add a digital signature to your emails to verify their authenticity.

DMARC records provide additional email authentication and policy enforcement.

Set up SPF record

If you own Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy, Professional Email, Workspace Email or Media Temple Mail, use the following SPF record:

v=spf1 include:secureserver.net ~all

If you own Microsoft 365 from GoDaddy and the Advanced Email Security add-on, use the following SPF record:

v=spf1 a:dispatch-us.ppe-hosted.com include:secureserver.net ~all

To add or edit your SPF record read these instructions.

Set up DKIM record

Sign in to the Microsoft 365 Defender Portal. Use your Microsoft 365 email address and password (your GoDaddy username and password won’t work here).

Under DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), select your domain name. (Make sure to select the domain name itself, and not the checkbox next to it.) A window will open on the rightmost side.

Screenshot of a domainkeys identified mail (dkim) interface with an email "jane@coolexample.com" checkbox selected in the user list.


Select Create DKIM keys. The keys will be generated as CNAME records.

Select Copy. The hostname and value of both records will be copied to your clipboard. You’ll need the records in the next step, so we recommend pasting them into another document.

To add your DKIM record read these instructions.

Set up DMARC record

To set up your DMARC record read these instructions.

You can also start by adding a simple DMARC record.

Screenshot showing two labeled fields, "dmarc record host or name" with the value "_dmarc.example.com" and "dmarc record content or value" with the value "v=dmarc1; p=none;". Two 'copy' buttons are adjacent to the fields.
Simple DMARC record with policy of p=none

Update your GoDaddy email settings

GoDaddy offers various email settings that can help improve email deliverability, such as enabling email forwarding, configuring email filters, and setting up email aliases.

Therefore, it is advisable to review and update your GoDaddy email settings regularly.

Send a test email and see where it lands

Before sending an important email, it’s advisable to send a test email to yourself and check where it lands (Spam Folder, Promotions Tab or Primary Inbox).

This can help you identify any issues with your email subject line, content or configuration and make necessary adjustments.

I recommend you set up 2 test accounts, one with Gmail and another with Outlook. These accounts will be used ONLY for testing purposes.

This helpful video by Dara Sklar will explain how to perform the tests.

Screenshot of a computer screen displaying an email interface with a video play button in the center, indicating an embedded video awaiting playback. The screen also shows an open chat window.
Source: Dara Sklar

Avoid using spam trigger words

As mentioned earlier, certain words and phrases commonly used in spam emails can trigger spam filters.

Therefore, it is important to avoid using these words in your email content. Examples include “urgent,” “free,” and “limited time offer.”

Personalize your emails

Personalizing your emails, such as addressing the recipient by name, can improve engagement and reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

However, it’s important to ensure that your personalization efforts are genuine and not misleading.

Ask your recipients to whitelist your email address

Asking your recipients to whitelist your email address can help ensure that your emails are delivered to their inbox instead of their spam folder.

This involves instructing your recipients to add your email address to their contacts or safe sender list.

Contact GoDaddy support for assistance

If you’ve tried all of the above steps and still experiencing problems with your emails going to spam, it may be necessary to contact GoDaddy support for help.

They can help identify and resolve any configuration issues that may be causing the problem.

Conclusion

Having your GoDaddy emails go to spam can be quite frustrating and negatively impact your business or personal communication.

However, there are several steps you can take to solve this problem and ensure that your emails are delivered to the recipient’s inbox.

By understanding email spam filters, checking your email content for spam triggers, verifying your email domain and authentication, and following the other steps outlined in this article, you can improve your email deliverability and avoid the spam folder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my GoDaddy emails going to spam?

Your emails may be going to spam due to a variety of reasons, such as suspicious content, poor domain reputation, blacklisted IP address, or lack of email authentication.

How can I check if my IP address is blacklisted?

You can use these online tools to check if your IP address is blacklisted.

What are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, and how do they help prevent emails from going to spam?

SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records help email providers authenticate the sender’s identity and verify that the email is not spam.

Can personalizing my emails increase the likelihood of them being delivered to the inbox?

Yes, personalizing your emails can improve engagement and reduce the chances of them being marked as spam.

What should I do if I’ve tried all of the above steps and still experiencing problems with my GoDaddy emails going to spam?

If you’ve tried all of the above steps and are still experiencing issues, it may be necessary to contact GoDaddy support for assistance.

Hans Desjarlais
Hans Desjarlais

Hans Desjarlais is a seasoned tech entrepreneur with over a decade of industry experience. Faced with low open rates in his previous lifestyle software business, he dived into the complexities of email deliverability, performed rigorous testing and learned to achieve remarkable results. Now, he specializes in helping companies fix their email deliverability, avoid the spam folder and boost their email ROI.

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