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Glossary Term

Spam Triggers

Words, phrases, or formatting patterns that increase the likelihood of an email being flagged as spam.

What is Spam Triggers?

Spam triggers are specific elements in your email that can cause spam filters to flag your message. While modern spam filters are sophisticated and consider context, certain patterns still increase your spam risk:

High-risk triggers:

  • ALL CAPS in subject lines
  • "FREE", "WINNER", "ACT NOW", "LIMITED TIME"
  • Dollar signs ($$$) and excessive numbers
  • Shortened URLs (bit.ly, tinyurl)
  • Invisible tracking pixels

Medium-risk triggers:

  • Excessive exclamation points!!!
  • Phone numbers in subject lines
  • "Click here" anchor text
  • Heavy HTML formatting
  • Multiple different fonts/colors

Context matters: Modern spam filters evaluate patterns, not just individual words. A single "free" in context is fine; "FREE MONEY NOW!!!" is not.

Why It Matters

  • 1Easy to avoid once you know them
  • 2Can sink otherwise good emails
  • 3Cumulative - multiple triggers compound the problem
  • 4Vary by spam filter (Gmail vs enterprise)

Related Tools

email spam checker

Related Guides

spam triggers quick referencesubject lines that work

Related Terms

Spam Score
A numerical rating indicating how likely an email is to be flagged as spam based on content and sender factors.
Email Deliverability
The ability of your emails to successfully reach recipients' inboxes rather than being blocked or sent to spam.
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