What is Google Postmaster Tools
Google Postmaster Tools is Google's free tool that allows you to monitor certain metrics related to emails sent to Gmail accounts. You can use it to check the spam complaint rate, email authentication, any delivery errors, and compliance with Google's sender requirements.
Google is gradually replacing the previous version of Postmaster Tools with Postmaster Tools v2, which will become the only available version.
What You Can Monitor
Google Postmaster Tools collects information about email traffic sent to Gmail accounts and helps identify signals that may affect deliverability.
The main available data include:
- Spam rate, which is the percentage of messages marked as spam by Gmail users.
- Authentication, to verify the results of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC checks.
- Delivery errors, to analyze any messages rejected or temporarily deferred by Gmail.
- Feedback Loop, to identify campaigns associated with a significant number of spam complaints.
- Compliance, to verify adherence to Google's sender requirements.
What Changes with Postmaster Tools v2
Google is retiring the previous version of Postmaster Tools, also known as v1, in favor of the new v2 version.
With this transition, the Domain Reputation and IP Reputation dashboards from the previous version will no longer be available. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to directly view the previous domain or IP reputation indicators within Postmaster Tools.
This does not mean that Google no longer considers sender reputation in the email classification process. Reputation remains one of several signals used by Gmail, but it is no longer represented through the previous dashboards.
To assess the status of your Gmail email deliveries, it is useful to observe the other available indicators together, especially Spam Rate, Authentication, Delivery Errors, and Compliance.
Before Setting Up Postmaster Tools
To use Google Postmaster Tools, you must:
- Have a Google account.
- Have access to manage the DNS of the domain you want to verify.
- Properly authenticate the emails sent from the domain.
- Send a sufficient volume of emails to Gmail accounts so that Google can display meaningful data.
Google may not show some metrics when the traffic volume is insufficient. The absence of data does not necessarily indicate a configuration problem.
Add the Domain
Log in to Google Postmaster Tools with your Google account.
Go to domain management.
Add the domain you use for sending emails.
Verify the Domain
Verify the domain through TXT records to be published in the DNS.
Copy the TXT record provided by Google and add it to the domain's DNS configuration.
DNS record propagation may take some time. Once the domain is verified, Google will start showing the available data for the associated email traffic.
Check the Spam Rate
The Spam Rate indicates the percentage of emails that Gmail users have marked as spam.
The value is calculated on messages delivered to users and subsequently reported as spam. It does not include emails that Gmail has already automatically classified in the Spam folder.
A low value alone does not guarantee that all emails will be delivered to the Inbox.
Google recommends senders keep the spam rate below 0.1% and avoid reaching or exceeding 0.3%.
Check Authentication
The Authentication dashboard allows you to check the percentage of emails that successfully pass authentication checks.
You can use it to identify potential issues related to:
- SPF.
- DKIM.
- DMARC.
If you notice a sudden drop in authentication percentages, verify the sender domain and sent email configurations.
Analyze Delivery Errors
The Delivery Errors dashboard shows messages that Gmail has either permanently or temporarily rejected.
It can help you identify issues such as authentication errors, temporary limitations, or other reasons why Gmail did not accept part of the traffic.
When an anomaly appears, check the error type and the period it occurred, then compare it with the volumes and campaigns sent during the same interval.
Check the Feedback Loop
The Google Feedback Loop helps senders who send large volumes of emails identify campaigns associated with a significant number of spam complaints.
Emails sent from magnews include a Feedback-ID header that allows Google to aggregate this information.
The data shown is aggregated: Google Postmaster Tools does not allow identifying individual contacts who reported a message as spam.
Verify Compliance
The Compliance Status dashboard allows you to verify whether the domain and sent emails meet the main requirements Google expects from senders.
This is especially important for bulk senders, meaning senders who send about 5,000 or more messages to personal Gmail accounts within 24 hours.
The dashboard checks, among other aspects:
- SPF and DKIM authentication.
- DNS records.
- Message formatting.
- Encryption.
- Spam rate reported by users.
- DMARC authentication, for bulk senders.
- One-click unsubscribe, for bulk senders.
- Proper handling of unsubscribe requests, for bulk senders.
Deliverability analysis
Within the Compliance Status dashboard, there is also Deliverability analysis, a diagnostic tool that helps understand the domain's status toward Gmail and provides guidance on possible deliverability issues.
Google may show recommendations, for example, when:
- The volume of emails sent is too low.
- Some messages are not delivered.
- The spam rate exceeds the recommended threshold.
- Recipients interact little with the emails.
- Recipients show interest in receiving more messages.
- One or more requirements from Google's sender guidelines are not met.
This analysis becomes particularly useful with the transition to Postmaster Tools v2, as it provides operational indications on the domain status even though the previous Domain Reputation and IP Reputation dashboards will no longer be available.
Therefore, periodically check both the Compliance Status and the Deliverability analysis to identify any issues and understand which aspects require action.
Why Don't I See Reputation Anymore
If you used the previous version of Google Postmaster Tools, you might have accessed the Domain Reputation and IP Reputation dashboards.
These dashboards belong to the previous version of the service, and Google has announced their retirement with the transition to Postmaster Tools v2.
Their absence in the new version does not indicate a problem with the domain, Google account, or magnews configuration.
To monitor deliverability to Gmail, consider the data available in Postmaster Tools v2 together, especially:
- Spam Rate
- Authentication
- Delivery Errors
- Feedback Loop
- Compliance Status
- Deliverability analysis
No single metric alone determines Inbox delivery: Gmail uses various signals to evaluate messages and senders.
Share Domain Access
You can allow other users to view data for a verified domain in Google Postmaster Tools.
The users you add must have a valid Google or Google Workspace account.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Domain Reputation No Longer Available?
The previous Domain Reputation and IP Reputation dashboards are retired with the transition from Google Postmaster Tools v1 to v2. You will no longer be able to use those dashboards to directly check reputation.
Is Postmaster Tools v1 Still Available?
Yes, but Google has announced the retirement of this interface in favor of Postmaster Tools v2. The phase-out is ongoing, but Google may adjust the transition timing. It is therefore recommended to use the new version.
If Postmaster Tools Shows No Data, Is There a Problem?
Not necessarily. Google shows metrics only when it has sufficient traffic volume for the analyzed domain. A properly configured domain may thus show partial or no data during some periods.
How Can I Tell If I Have Deliverability Issues on Gmail?
Do not rely on a single indicator. Check Spam Rate, Authentication, Delivery Errors, Feedback Loop, Compliance Status, and Deliverability analysis together and compare any anomalies with volumes and campaigns sent during the same period.
What Can I Do If I Have Deliverability Issues on Gmail?
If you notice delivery problems to Gmail, first check the main indicators available in Google Postmaster Tools:
- Spam Rate, to verify if user spam complaints have increased.
- Authentication, to check that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are working correctly.
- Delivery Errors, to identify any rejections or limitations applied by Gmail.
- Compliance Status, to verify that the domain meets Google's sender requirements.
- Deliverability analysis, to review any indications and recommendations provided by Google.
- Feedback Loop, if available, to identify campaigns associated with a significant number of spam complaints.
Also check whether the issue affects all shipments or only some campaigns and compare the affected period with volumes sent, recipient types, and metric trends.
If all indicators are positive and no obvious anomalies emerge, but you continue to experience delivery issues to Gmail, you can open a report directly with Google to request further investigation.
In the report, it is helpful to provide as much information as possible about the issue encountered, such as the sender domain, affected period, type of traffic sent, any error messages received, and the header of the sent message.