Dirty Words

How Everyday Business Terminology Can Get Flagged by SPAM Filters

I recently had a conversation with a client about how the use of his business name in the subject line of his email was getting picked up by SPAM filters when he sends out his monthly newsletter. Why had the word “financial” become a dirty word? If you are like me you get 50 calls a day about expansion capital. Not only do I get calls, I also receive unwarranted texts and emails with regards to this same topic. If you get enough people complaining and marking these emails as SPAM, then certain words get targeted going forward.

So where is the line between legitimate businesses and SPAM? In many cases that line has disappeared.

Lets add another variable to this equation. Content. A lot of companies use their newsletter as archives on their website to help broaden their website’s footprint and help improve their rank on the search engines. You’ve probably heard a lot about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and how using certain keywords can raise your website’s visibility. But what you may not have heard is that the word choice in your content not only has the power to allow more people to see you, but when it comes to emails, it can influence whether you can be seen at all.

While certain keywords can help to improve your online ranking, certain words can also trigger the SPAM filter. You may have stellar content that properly represents your brand and gets your messaging across in an easily understood manner, but if your email includes certain words, it won’t matter how great your content is – it simply won’t be seen. But why is that? It may just end up in your SPAM filter.

Trigger Words

There are actually hundreds of common words and phrases that most SPAM filters will pick up on. These are known as “trigger” words. Though this list of words and phrases is continuously changing, here are just a few examples – you may be surprised.

• #1
• 100%
• Affordable
• Cancel
• Buy
• Click Here
• Credit Card
• Deal

It is not easy to predict all of the words that will trigger SPAM filters, however there are many online resources that you can use to check to see if a word has been listed as a common SPAM word.

Here are a few best practices that can be used to avoid the dreaded SPAM filter:

• Use more than one word in subject lines
• Double check spelling
• DON’T USE ALL CAPS
• Do not include exclamation points!

Sun Sign Designs Can Help!

If you want to learn more about trigger words, email marketing, SEO, and other methods for improving company visibility, Sun Sign Designs, Inc can help. To learn more about Sun Sign Designs and the services that we offer, visit us online or email [email protected] today!