---
title: How to Use a Spam Score Checker Guide + Video
description: "A Salesforce blog by Solution Junkies covering implementation, AI, Agentforce, Marketing Cloud, Sales Cloud, data strategy, and industry-specific guidance written by certified UK Salesforce consultants."
url: "https://solutionjunkies.co.uk/blog/how-to-use-a-spam-score-checker-guide-video"
date_modified: "2026-07-31T13:47:21+01:00"
---
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Email deliverability is a crucial aspect of any email marketing strategy, as it determines whether your emails reach the intended recipients’ inboxes or get lost in the spam folder. Users often face challenges with their emails being blocked and not reaching their inboxes. It is important to understand the common reasons for this and strategies to troubleshoot and resolve these issues. A high spam score can significantly impact your email deliverability, making it essential to understand the factors that affect spam score calculation and how to maintain a healthy spam score. Email service providers use spam filters to block emails that appear spammy, and a good spam score is directly linked to your email deliverability. In this section, we will explore the importance of email deliverability and how to improve it using tools like a spam score checker.
## What is a Spam Score?
Your spam score is a numerical representation of how likely your email is to be flagged as spam by various email providers’ filters. It’s a valuable indicator of your email deliverability. A lower score is better, indicating a higher probability of your email reaching the recipient’s inbox.
Several factors contribute to your spam score, including:
- **Sender Authentication:** Proper implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- **Content Quality:** The presence of spam trigger words, excessive use of capitalisation or exclamation points, and overall content relevance. The use of anchor text is also crucial; an overabundance of anchor text without valuable content can trigger spam alerts, while using branded anchor text in backlinks can enhance brand authority and search rankings.
- **HTML Coding:** Clean and well-structured code versus bloated or poorly formatted HTML.Sender Reputation: Your sending domain’s history and reputation.
- **List Hygiene:** The quality and engagement of your email list.
- **Data Utilisation:** Leveraging recent data to inform spam score algorithms can provide insights into common reasons emails end up in spam folders and enhance email deliverability.
## Why is Your Spam Score Important?
Your spam score provides valuable insights into how your emails are perceived by spam filters and recipient mailboxes. A high spam score indicates a need for further investigation into the email’s quality and relevance. It’s a more granular measure of your email deliverability than simply looking at “delivered” rates, as an email can be technically delivered but still end up in the spam folder. By monitoring and improving your spam score, you can:
- **Increase Inbox Placement:** Ensure your emails reach the primary inbox, maximising visibility.
- **Improve Engagement:** Drive higher open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
- **Protect Sender Reputation:** Maintain a positive sending reputation, which is crucial for long-term deliverability. A high spam score doesn’t necessarily mean the email is spammy, but it does require careful analysis to understand the contributing factors.
## How to Use a Spam Score Checker
You can use various tools to evaluate your spam score and analyse your email’s deliverability. Running a spam test is crucial to understand where your emails are landing and uncover potential deliverability issues. Some popular options include:
- **Paid Platforms:**
- [**Litmus**](https://www.litmus.com/landing-page/homepage?qgad=777103043408&qgterm=litmus&utm_source=google-ads&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=search_uk_brand&utm_agid=145844115284&utm_term=litmus&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19151770507&gbraid=0AAAAADdYffuDCC8Q8EReV1nx1e4jwwD6f&gclid=CjwKCAjw687NBhB4EiwAQ645dsWZ7u6xznYiiqDtTW4OW4v1cUeKd_XMcFx2xOgGrqamNkbcQjajDxoCG-gQAvD_BwE)**:** Offers comprehensive email testing, including spam scoring, rendering previews, and deliverability insights. (Note: Litmus is a paid service.)
- [**Moz Pro**](https://moz.com/products/pro)**:** A valuable tool that includes features like spam score checkers, allowing users to analyse the spam score of their domain. It helps in understanding website health, categorising spam scores, and advising users on the implications of high spam scores on search engine rankings.
- **Free or Low-Cost Tools:**
- [**Mail-Tester.com**](https://mail-tester.com/)**:** Provides a free email analysis report, scoring your email and highlighting areas for improvement.
- [**Analyse Email**](https://analyze.email/)**:** Another free tool that analyses various aspects of your email to assess its spam risk.
Conducting various tests with these tools can significantly improve your email deliverability and overall email strategy.
## Steps to Check Your Spam Score (Using Mail-Tester.com as an Example)
1. Go to mail-tester.com.
2. Copy the unique email address provided on the Mail-Tester homepage.
3. In your Marketing Cloud instance (or your email sending platform), select the email you want to test.
4. Use the "Preview and Test" or equivalent feature to send a test email to the email address you copied from Mail-Tester.com.
5. Click the "Then check your result" button on Mail-Tester.com.
6. Wait for the report to generate. It will display your spam score and provide detailed feedback on what's working well and what needs improvement.
### Key Areas to Focus On
When reviewing your spam score report, pay close attention to these areas:
- **Authentication:** Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured.
- **Content:** Avoid spam trigger words (e.g., “free,” “guaranteed”), excessive capitalisation, and misleading subject lines. Manage links in emails carefully to avoid being marked as spam, and always include a clear unsubscribe link.
- **HTML:** Use clean, well-structured code. Avoid excessive use of images or inline CSS.
- **Sender Reputation:** Monitor your sender reputation and address any issues promptly.List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses.
- **Page Quality:** Evaluate the quality of individual pages within your website. Ensure each page has high-quality content, a dedicated contact page, and proper interlinking to signal valuable information to search engines.
## Best Practices and Quick Tips
- **Pre-Send Testing:** Check your deliverability scores before large sends or when using a new email template design to prevent widespread deliverability issues. Start improving your inbox placement immediately by utilising specific tools designed for this purpose.
- **A/B Testing:** Experiment with different subject lines, content, and sending times to optimise your deliverability. Conduct various tests to understand how different factors affect your email outreach strategies and improve your sender reputation.
- **Monitor Performance:** Regularly monitor your email metrics (open rates, click-through rates, etc.) to identify any deliverability trends.
- **User Feedback:** Pay attention to user feedback and reports, as they can influence which terms get flagged as spam. Craft your emails considering user perceptions and behaviours to improve deliverability.
Understanding and actively managing your spam score is essential for maximising the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. By using the right tools and following best practices, you can ensure your emails reach the intended recipients and drive meaningful results.
If you’re struggling with deliverability issues or need expert assistance, don’t hesitate to consult our [Marketing Cloud specialist](https://solutionjunkies.co.uk/contact-us)s.