A client missing your quote. A supplier not seeing your order. A customer’s reply landing in junk. Every one of those situations costs your business money and credibility. The good news: the cause is almost always technical and fixable.
What Are the Most Common Reasons Business Emails Go to Spam?
1. Missing or Incorrect SPF Record
An SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record is a DNS TXT record that lists which mail servers are authorised to send email on behalf of your domain. If your sending server is not listed, the email fails authentication and gets routed to spam or rejected outright. This is the most common cause for Australian businesses — especially after a domain transfer or server migration.
2. Missing DKIM Signature
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a cryptographic signature to every outgoing email. Without it, receiving servers cannot verify the email actually came from your domain — a red flag that pushes email toward spam.
3. No DMARC Policy
DMARC tells receiving servers what to do when an email fails SPF or DKIM checks. Without it, your domain is more vulnerable to spoofing, which damages your sending reputation and causes legitimate emails to be treated with suspicion.
4. Your Sending IP Has Been Blacklisted
If another account on the same shared mail server sent spam, the IP address your emails come from may appear on blacklists like Spamhaus or Barracuda. Australian Hosting Solutions monitors sending IPs and can check and request removal.
5. Your Email Content Triggers Spam Filters
Common triggers include spam-flagged words in subject lines (“free”, “urgent”, “click here”), executable file attachments, all-caps subject lines, or a very high image-to-text ratio.
What Are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC and Why Do They Matter?
| Record | What It Does | Effect If Missing |
|---|---|---|
| SPF | Authorises which mail servers can send email for your domain | Emails fail authentication, go to spam or bounce |
| DKIM | Adds a cryptographic signature to verify email authenticity | Cannot verify sender — spam or junk folder |
| DMARC | Tells receiving servers what to do if SPF/DKIM fail | Domain vulnerable to spoofing, lower deliverability |
Australian Hosting Solutions configures all three as part of your business email hosting setup. If emails are going to spam right now, call (02) 9199 8787 — we will check and correct your DNS records on the call.
How Do You Check If Your Emails Are Passing SPF and DKIM?
- Send a test email to a Gmail address and open the received message
- Click the three-dot menu and select Show original
- Look for
spf=pass,dkim=pass, anddmarc=pass - Any that say
fail,neutral, ornoneneed to be corrected in your DNS
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my emails go to spam with Gmail but not Outlook?
Gmail is particularly strict about DMARC alignment. The most likely cause is a DKIM issue. Call (02) 9199 8787 and we will check your DNS records.
How long does it take to fix spam delivery after correcting DNS records?
DNS changes propagate within 30 minutes to 4 hours for Australian ISPs. Blacklisting delisting requests are usually processed within 24–48 hours.
Does switching to Microsoft 365 fix spam deliverability issues?
Not automatically. You still need correct SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain regardless of which email platform you use.
Can Australian Hosting Solutions fix my spam deliverability issue?
Yes. Call (02) 9199 8787 and our team will check your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records and correct them on the call for all business email hosting accounts we manage.
My emails worked fine and suddenly started going to spam — what happened?
A sudden change usually means your sending IP was blacklisted, DNS records were modified during a hosting change, or your domain was spoofed. Call (02) 9199 8787 immediately.
Emails going to spam?
Call (02) 9199 8787 — we will diagnose and fix your deliverability issue live on the phone, 22 hours a day.
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