How to test emails with SpamAssassin

This article explains how to test emails with SpamAssassin, how it works, and how to understand the results.

How does the Spam Assassin test work –>

How does the email score affects deliverability –>

How to understand the email scoring –>

What is SpamAssassin

SpamAssassin is an open-source platform used to analyze emails and detect spam.

Besides being a famous spam filter, it also serves as a tool to rate the email’s quality before sending campaigns.

You can check your SpamAssassin score as a part of Snov.io’s Deliverability check.

Why it’s important to pass the test:

SpamAssassin is widely used by email providers and companies to automatically filter out unwanted emails.

Compliance with SpamAssassin will guarantee that your emails avoid spam filters.

How does the Spam Assassin test work

The goal of this test is to ensure that your emails successfully avoid spam filters when you send campaigns.

It works by performing tests on an email based on multiple parameters.

These tests look for any signs or attributes of spam, as well as issues with the email’s technical details.

Here are the primary aspects that are being checked:

• Sender reputation;
• Email headers;
• Email authentication (DKIM signature, SPF record);
• Email content and HTML source code.

How does the SpamAssassin score affects deliverability

Once the test is completed, each tested parameter receives a certain number of points.

What the points in the test results mean:

• Red points indicate serious spam issues.
• Yellow points mean the test failed and indicate possible issues.
• Gray points represent a neutral result (little impact on deliverability).
• Green points mean the test was passed.

All the individual points are summed up to calculate the total score.

How to understand the email rating

The total Score indicates the likelihood of the tested email being marked as spam.

The higher the score, with 10 being the maximum, the greater the likelihood.

The lower the score, which could even be below zero, the lesser the likelihood.

Aim to achieve the lowest possible score in the test results; a score close to zero or below is considere perfect.

Here’s how we recommend interpreting the total score:

Anything below zero up to 2 points: Great

The fewer points your email receives, the less likely it is to be marked as spam.

With this rating, your email won’t be considered spam by most standards, and you can send campaigns safely.

Emails with such scores have low deliverability risks and a great inbox placement rate.

2-5 points: Neutral

This is an acceptable score, but there is still a chance your email may be marked as spam.

Emails with scores in this range face moderate deliverability risks in campaigns, but these are unlikely to have a major impact.

However, you can still improve your email by reviewing the test results and addressing the parameters that failed the test.

5 and above points: Poor

Five points is the threshold for emails to be considered spam.

Any value above this indicates that there are serious issues with your email.

Emails with such scores are not recommended for use in campaigns. You should review the test results and address the parameters that failed the check.

If you have a question that we haven’t covered, feel free to reach out to our Customer Care team. You can contact us at help@snov.io or through live chat. We’re here to assist you!