The Blacklist… And We Don’t Mean The TV Show With James Spader
What to do if your website gets blacklisted…
Companies like Cisco estimate that more than 85 percent of all the world’s sent emails are SPAM. And the USA is the biggest offender. We’re rated as the world’s biggest sender of the inbox-clogging stuff.
That’s why blacklisting exists. IP addresses can be ‘blacklisted’ if they are believed to be part of serial spam campaigns. But how exactly do you end up on the blacklist and what can you do about it if you find yourself there?
What is a blacklist?
A blacklist is a collection of websites or IP addresses that are viewed with suspicion or disapproval. There are several blacklists in operation on the Internet, not just one. You could be denied services or just lose traffic to your site if your IP address appears on a blacklist. In most cases, your hosting company will suspend your services until the detected threat has been removed. In a worst case-scenario your site could lose data if your hosting company removes your site, but this is an extremely rare case, and only happens when preventative and cooperative actions are refused.
Why are websites blacklisted?
When a site is put on the blacklist it’s usually for one of the following reasons…
· You may have bought a bad mailing list and sent mail to unauthorized addresses.
· Your domain could be hosting malware or is linked to a compromised website.
· You could be hosting an open relay on your mail system.
· There could have been spam complaints lodged against you that you didn’t respond to.
· And finally, you sent spam- or broke other CANSPAM policies.
How do I know if I have been blacklisted?
In most cases you will receive an email message explaining that your emails are being blocked due to a blacklisted IP address. The message will contain the IP address being affected as well as the owner of the blacklist you have been added to.
If you suspect that you are being blacklisted but have not received an email stating this to be the case, you can visit websites that will search through the different lists searching for your IP. You can also hire a monitoring website that can check your IPs daily, if you have been blacklisted the service will alert you.
We recommend using mxtoolbox.com they offer both a look-up as well as free monitoring.
What to do if you find out your website has been blacklisted
1. Find out which site you have been blacklisted on. You may have to contact your hosting company.
2. Follow any instructions you have been given very carefully. Failure to do so could result in the removal of your site.
3. Be sure that you follow all internet spam policy to prevent further suspensions.
4. Carefully check all third-party companies you send mail through. Only use third-party companies that are compliant and secure.
For more information please visit us at midphase.com or visit our support center at http://www.midphase.com/support.