The Promotions tab is a feature in Gmail that automatically categorizes promotional emails into a separate tab within the inbox. When an email falls into the Promotions tab, it is separated from the Primary tab (where most personal emails go) and the Social tab (where emails from social media platforms go).
The Promotions tab is designed to help Gmail users manage their inbox and reduce clutter by separating promotional emails from personal and social emails. This can make it easier for users to find the emails they are looking for and reduce the chances of important emails being missed or buried under a pile of promotional emails.
However, the Promotions tab also creates a greater challenge for email marketers. It’s harder to get their emails noticed by users, as users may not check the Promotions tab as frequently as they do their Primary tab.
In this article, we’ll discuss what causes emails to get sent to the Promotions tab and what you can do to avoid it.
How Google Reads Promotional Emails
Google uses a variety of signals to determine which emails are classified as marketing emails. Some of the factors that may influence this decision include:
Email content
The content of the email, including the subject line, sender name, and body text, is analyzed to determine if it contains language that is commonly associated with promotional emails.
Marketing emails often use promotional language such as “special offer,” “discount,” or “limited time only.” Including these phrases will allow Google to detect your email as a promotion and send it to the Promotions tab.
Marketing emails also feature prominent branding, including logos, colors, and other design elements that are associated with the sender’s brand. Depending on the brand and how familiar Gmail’s spam filter is with the branding, it could also be another signal that gives the email away as a promotion.
Calls-to-action (CTAs) that encourage the recipient to take a specific action, such as clicking a link, making a purchase, or signing up for a service is another element in email marketing that triggers Gmail’s spam filter.
Marketing emails are required by law to include an unsubscribe link, which allows the recipient to opt-out of future emails from the sender. This link is the number-one element leveraged in marketing emails that Google uses to determine if an email belongs in the Promotions tab.
Sender reputation
Google also considers the sender’s reputation to determine if the emails sent should go in the Promotions tab. It bases this decision on factors such as the sender’s email address, sending domain, and email authentication practices, as well as:
- Spam complaints: If subscribers mark your emails as spam, it negatively affects your sender reputation. High numbers of spam complaints can result in your emails being filtered into the Promotions tab.
- Bounce rates: If your emails are sent to invalid or non-existent email addresses, it can lead to a high bounce rate, which can negatively impact your sender reputation.
- Email frequency: If you send too many emails too often, subscribers may become overwhelmed and mark your messages as spam, which can negatively affect your overall sender reputation.
- List quality: Sending emails to a high-quality, engaged list can positively impact your sender reputation.
- Email engagement: If subscribers consistently open, click, and reply to your messages, this indicates a positive sender reputation and Gmail may be more likely to send future emails to the Primary tab.
How to Prevent Your Emails from Landing in the Promotions Tab
It’s not possible to trick Gmail into thinking that your email isn’t promotional. Because of elements like the unsubscribe link, as well as other smart detection tools, Gmail can usually always tell when an email was sent by an email marketer.
If you want to prevent your emails from landing in your subscribers’ Promotions tab, the goal isn’t to change your emails to trick Gmail: the goal is to become a high-value email sender, so that your subscriber whitelists your address or so that Gmail does it themselves.
When a promotional email is sent to a Gmail user, it will appear in the Promotions tab unless the user has previously moved emails from that sender to another tab or marked the sender as important. Here are a few things you can try to increase the chances of your emails landing in the Primary tab:
- Ask your subscribers to whitelist your email address: Ask your subscribers to add your email address to their contacts or mark your emails as “not spam.” This can help build your sender reputation and increase the likelihood that your emails will be delivered to the Primary tab.
- Send relevant and engaging emails: Make sure your emails are relevant and engaging to your subscribers, with clear subject lines and compelling content. This can help to increase open rates and engagement, which can signal to Gmail that your emails are important and should be placed in the Primary tab.
- Avoid using spammy or sales-focused language: Avoid using language that is likely to be flagged as spam, such as all-caps, excessive punctuation, or words like “free,” “discount,” or “sale.” This can trigger Gmail’s spam filters and cause your emails to get placed in the Promotions tab.
- Improve your sender reputation: Focus on using the best email marketing practices to build up your sender reputation. Monitor your email performance over time and test different strategies to see what works best for your subscribers.
