Spam Filters vs Email Marketing - How Does Spam Filtering Work?

The spam filter is a staple component of modern e-mail services. It is so integral that it is easy to forget that it once wasn’t there at a...

The spam filter is a staple component of modern e-mail services. It is so integral that it is easy to forget that it once wasn’t there at all. Today, Spam Filters are playing an important role in filtering out spam emails for Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other email service providers. In this post, we will discuss why it was necessary to invent spam filters and how does spam filtering work against unethical email marketing practices.

Spam Filters vs Email Marketing - How Does Spam Filtering Work?

Early Email Days

When email first arrived, it was still a very niche thing. Even when it became possible for the average person to register for their own email address, uptake was still running very low for quite some time. However, as email grew in popularity and became more commonplace, people began to find more uses for it beyond simple communication. Back when internet speeds were limited by dial-up, people were unlikely to attach any substantial files to the emails, meaning that they were mostly text-based.

At this point, there was virtually nothing in place to stop unscrupulous users from abusing the email system.

Email Marketing

Even before images became common in emails, emails were widely used for marketing purposes. Just as regular snail mail can be used by small businesses to reach out to a large number of people at once, email promised to be able to do this on a much greater scale. As the number of email addresses increased exponentially, so did the potential power of email marketing for marketers.

Email marketing is still in use today and is an effective tactic, although marketers have to work around commercial spam filters. Startups Anonymous has a list of the most popular services for email marketing today. The tools might be different, but the core principles and use cases have remained the same for decades.

Spammers Attack

By the late 90s to the early 2000s, email marketing was a huge industry. Unfortunately, not all the email marketers were acting scrupulously, and many were criminals. In order to combat the massive rise of email abuse, internet service providers took certain measures to block suspect domains and to start blacklisting the organizations associated with the worst email spam.

These initial efforts at spam filtering were woefully ineffective, and it wasn't until the mid-to-late 2000 that the concept of the domain reputation really began to take hold. Put simply, email providers and ISPs worked together to ascertain exactly where spam emails were coming from and which networks were responsible for sending them. By gradually blacklisting and blocking the associated IP addresses and domain names, ISPs were able to make a real dent in the number of spam emails flowing through the system.

Now, there is a range of sophisticated tools available and the battle has shifted towards engagement metrics. Instead of trying to identify criminal or suspicious domains, email providers now turn to the uses for guidance on what is and isn't spam. Domain reputation is still important, but every user has their own individual spam filter that is tailored to their behaviors.

Email Marketing is still a vital tool for small businesses, but over-zealous spam filters can make it hard for legitimate businesses to use it to its full advantage. However, anyone who can remember the days before the spam filter will tell you that the current situation is much better.