What to do about high bounce rates

Jan 30, 2026
Knowledge

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This article explains the bounce types, bounce-rate thresholds, and provides some proactive steps that you can take to prevent high bounce rates.

Ⓘ	Emma Support cannot provide any deliverability / bounce-related troubleshooting unless you have set up email authentication. For more information about how to set up DKIM, DMARC, SPF, and allowlisting, please refer to this article.

A quick introduction to bounces

The first thing to know in the email world is that bounces are going to happen. Period. Some can be avoided and some cannot, so it's important to know the difference.

There are two main categories of bounces: Soft and hard. Soft bounces are typically caused by temporary issues, such as a full inbox. Hard bounces are typically caused by more serious or permanent issues, such as an email address that no longer exists. To learn more about the two types of bounces, their differences, and the way our platform processes them, please check out this article.

Bounce rate benchmark tips

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When it comes to moving a contact's status from Error to Active, it is vital to first troubleshoot why it bounced in the first place, then make sure to verify with the subscriber that their address is still active and able to receive emails. Once you've done that, then you can move the address back to Active. The reason for this is because repeated attempts to deliver emails to a problematic address can damage your deliverability and sender reputation.

Here are some quick tips to determine what you can do about the different types of bounces:

2% or lower

Single mailing

If the bounces are mostly soft, this is likely a temporary issue. If the bounces are mostly hard, you will want to double-check your list gathering methods / resources to make sure you are not sending to old lists or have a spam-bot problem on your signup forms. Either way, continue to keep an eye on it, just in case you see a trend, and set up authentication, if you have not already.

Multiple mailings

Set up authentication, if you have not already. Additionally, if there is a trend in domain(s) or addresses, reach out to Support for further investigation. If not, keep an eye out for a trend moving forward.

2% - 5%

Single mailing

Investigate for trends or possible changes in sending / content habits. Set up authentication, if you have not already.

Multiple mailings

Set up authentication, if you have not already. Double-check your list health to make sure that it isn’t filled with old, inactive subscribers, as they will hurt both deliverability and, eventually, delivery. Reach out to Support for further investigation.

5% - 10%

Single mailing and multiple mailings

Set up authentication, if you have not already. If you already have authentication set up, check that your authentication records are all in place, that no major changes have been made to your domain, and that the mailing in question was sent from the correct domain. Check that you didn’t accidentally re-enable old addresses or lists. Double-check that all signup forms are secured with some form of reCaptcha. Reach out to Support for further investigation even for a single occurrence, as this could be a sign of something serious.

10% or higher

Single mailing and multiple mailings

Set up authentication, if you have not already. If you already have authentication set up, check that your authentication records are all in place, that no major changes have been made to your domain, and that the mailing in question was sent from the correct domain. Reach out to Support for further investigation, even for a single occurrence, as this could be a sign of something serious.

Ⓘ	Discontinue sending until a resolution is reached, in order to prevent this from recurring.

Domain-specific tips

Freemail domains

Freemail domains are domains that anyone can use to sign up for an email address, such as @gmail.com. Make sure that you clean out old, inactive freemail subscribers over time, otherwise these contacts can impact your deliverability.

Private domains

Private domains belong to specific organizations, such as myemma.com. Make sure that subscribers have added your sender address to their Address Book / Safe-Sender List. When sending internally, make sure to have Emma’s IPs allowlisted.

6 things you can do to protect against bounces

1. Add reCaptcha to all signup sources

For more information about why this is important, please refer to this article. For more information about how to add reCaptcha to your forms, please refer to this article.

2. Authenticate your sending domain

Most major inbox providers now require DKIM and DMARC to be set up, at minimum. If you are sending internally, you should also allowlist Emma at every point where incoming mail is checked. For more information about authentication, please refer to this article.

3. Avoid unclear signup methods

Signup methods should clearly state exactly what people are signing up for. Some examples of unclear methods include:

Sharing lists between a family of brands
Stopping access to online content unless a user provides an email address
Scraping addresses from attended conferences

4. Implement maintenance on your lists at least once a month

Make sure that you're re-engaging subscribers who have not engaged recently. And get in the habit of removing subscribers who have not engaged in the last 12 months.

5. Suppress old bounces from previous platforms

Moving to a new ESP does not change the validity of an email address, so if a contact bounced on your previous platform, be sure to opt them out in Emma so that you don't accidentally send to them. For more onboarding tips, read this article.

6. Do not import old, inactive addresses or lists at any point

Permission is limited to 12 months since the last contact activity, like opening an email or making a purchase. Anything sent after that 12 month window is considered spam. One of the most damaging things you can do to your deliverability is to send to an old list.

Additional resources

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What to do about high bounce rates

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