{"id":4658,"date":"2016-07-28T10:40:15","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T10:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bme2.flywheelsites.com\/blog\/emails-going-promotions-tab\/"},"modified":"2020-06-05T20:04:22","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T20:04:22","slug":"emails-going-promotions-tab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.benchmarkemail.com\/in\/emails-going-promotions-tab\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Are My Emails Going Into The Promotions Tab?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since Gmail\u2019s smart labels or smart filters were released to its users in 2013, a big question for email marketers has been, \u201cwhat makes my email go into the promotions tab?\u201d Google being as complex as they are, it\u2019s an algorithm that determines where your emails are sent. There are a variety of factors that determine to which tab your emails are sent. Since Google does not publicly release this information, we can only make observations based on the emails sent and received with each tab.<\/p>\n

Focusing on the Promotions tab, the emails received there are surprisingly very accurate in terms of being promotional emails<\/a>. Google\u2019s algorithm is adjusted based on personal preferences and the email recipient\u2019s actions. A subject line like, \u201c$10 Off Your First Item,\u201d is a dead giveaway. Why isn\u2019t this in my spam folder though? I do have a membership to this website, which goes to show how extensive and complex the algorithm is.<\/p>\n

Your domain and sending reputation<\/a> undoubtedly are a part of what Google looks at. Google, being one of the biggest online search indexes, might have some sense of who you are based on your domain online. Everyone knows who Amazon and Uber are, but just because your name is big does not mean you\u2019ll get the coveted Primary tab. Amazon mainly sends transactional emails, so those go into my primary tab no problem. Unless I subscribe to their newsletters, those go to the Promotions tab. Uber sends me 50% deals (thank you), but those I\u2019ll only see in my Promotions tab.<\/p>\n

There are some things we can change, others we can\u2019t. A way to describe the algorithm is that it\u2019s like a very shallow person that puts the emails it doesn\u2019t like, promotional emails, into a special tab, so it can kinda get ignored.<\/p>\n

Although you can\u2019t change Google\u2019s algorithm, you probably don\u2019t want to change your domain. So what can you do? Well, because the algorithm is complex we can try to influence Google to consider it as a primary email. Here are some tips:<\/p>\n