The inbox placement record: what the daily tests measure, and how to read them

What the daily test does

An inbox placement test answers one practical question: when this inbox sends an email, where does it end up? Instead of guessing from opens or replies, the test sends real messages to seed inboxes, mailboxes that exist only to receive tests, and then looks at where each message arrived.

Every inbox InboxesNow has in stock goes through this every day:

1. Send. The inbox sends test messages to seed inboxes at three providers.
2. Land. For each message, the test records where it landed: the inbox, a category tab or spam.
3. Authenticate. It records whether SPF, DKIM and DMARC passed on that message.
4. Record. The day's results are added to the placement record of the inbox and of its domain.

The three providers

Mail is not filtered the same way everywhere, so the test sends to three kinds of mailbox, all in the US:

A result that is strong at one provider and weak at another is useful in itself. If most of your prospects use Microsoft 365, the Outlook row matters more to you than the other two.

Where a message can land

Each test message ends up in one of three places, and the record keeps them apart rather than collapsing them into "delivered":

• Inbox. The primary inbox, where the recipient is most likely to see it.
• Category tab. Delivered, but sorted into a tab such as Gmail's Promotions or Updates. The message is not lost, but it is easier to miss. See category tab.
• Spam. Filtered as junk. A rising spam share is the clearest early warning in the whole record.

On the record, each provider gets a daily strip, so you can see how each day's messages split between the three.

Authentication on every message

Mailbox providers check whether a message really comes from the domain it claims to come from. The test records three checks on every message:

• SPF: was the message sent from a server the domain allows?
• DKIM: does its signature prove it was not altered and really came from the domain?
• DMARC: do SPF or DKIM pass in a way that lines up with the visible From domain?

The record shows whether each check passed. All three records are configured on every domain before sale, so a failure here points at something worth asking about. The guide to SPF, DKIM and DMARC for cold email explains each check in plain words.

How to read the record

The summary number for each provider is the inbox rate over the last 7 days: the share of that week's test messages that reached the primary inbox. Next to it, the daily strip shows the days behind the number, so a single bad day and a steady decline never look the same.

A few habits make the record more useful:

• Read the trend, not a single day. One day's test is a small sample. A bar that dips once and recovers is noise; a spam share that grows over several days is a signal.
• Compare the providers. Strong Google Workspace and Gmail results with a weaker Outlook row tell you something different from a domain that is weak everywhere.
• Look at each inbox. The domain view is the sum of its inboxes. Switching to a single inbox shows whether one mailbox is pulling the domain's numbers down.
• Read it next to the warm-up record. A long, steady warm-up with consistent placement is the profile you want.

The guide on how to read an inbox placement test covers these habits in more depth, with what to do about each pattern.

What the record is not

The placement record shows where our test messages landed. It is evidence about the inbox, not a guarantee of where your own campaigns will land. Your results also depend on things only you control:

• Your list. Invalid addresses cause bounces, and bounces damage a sender's reputation quickly.
• Your copy. Spammy wording, heavy links and large images all change how filters see a message.
• Your volume. An inbox pushed far past a sensible daily limit loses its standing, however well it started.
• Your recipients. Seed inboxes are not your prospects, and real recipients' engagement shapes future placement.

Use the record to start from a known, healthy position, then protect it with good sending habits.

Choosing domains with it

In the shop you can open any domain's records before it goes in your cart, compare domains side by side and pick exactly the ones you want. If you would rather not choose by hand, Auto-pick best takes the domains with the highest 7-day warm-up inbox rate, and you can still open each one's placement record before you check out.

Every domain is also sold with its warm-up record: days warmed (never fewer than 21), the daily warm-up chart, the 7-day warm-up inbox rate and a health score. Together the two records answer both questions a buyer has: how was this inbox warmed, and where does its mail land now?

Related reading

New to the vocabulary? The deliverability glossary defines seed lists, category tabs and the rest. For what each domain includes and costs, see pre-warmed Google Workspace inboxes and pricing.