Email Verification: Why You Need It and How to Get Started

Savvy email marketers use an email verification service to keep their databases in good shape.

Don’t know where to start? We’ll guide you through the process and help you make the most of the system you choose.

What is email verification?

If you rely on email to communicate with your customers and subscribers, you already know how important email hygiene is. Every bounce is a lost opportunity, so ensuring you have an accurate list of contacts is vital.
Through email verification, you remove invalid and inactive email addresses from your list, but that’s not all. A good email verifier also weeds out catch-all, abuse, temporary and other types of risky addresses. Why is that important? Let’s find out!

Your sender reputation is key to landing in the inbox

Email marketing has been booming in the past few years. As social media has switched to a “pay to play” model, many companies have turned to email. It’s reliable, more intimate, and has an average return on investment (ROI) of $38.
Nonetheless, in order to be effective, email communication has to start with a healthy list. Good email hygiene tells Internet and email service providers that you’re a legitimate marketer who follows best practices.
Your sender reputation depends on factors such as:

• your bounce, open and click-through rate
• the number of spam complaints you receive
• whether your emails hit any spam traps
• and the number of people who delete your emails, or decide to reply to them or forward them.

As you can see, email verification plays a crucial role in this context. By removing outdated and risky contacts from your database, it helps you achieve a more powerful list. As a result:

• your bounce rate will decrease. Ideally, you should never allow it to be higher than 2%, the industry standard.
• also, as your reputation improves, your open and click-through rates will, too.
• it won’t be long until you notice a boost in your conversions: more people will see your emails in their inbox, so they’re more likely to buy from you.

How to get started with email verification

Thanks to the number of services on the market, cleaning your list is an easy process. Or, at least, it should be – when you pick the right service. So, how do you choose the best email verification system?
Here are some criteria to consider:

• features: take a look at what your email verifier offers. For example, what types of email addresses does it detect and remove? Find one that weeds out invalid, catch-all, abuse and temporary emails.
• accuracy: it’s best to avoid free services, as the results you’ll get aren’t going to make much of a difference. Look for a company that guarantees at least 97% accuracy.
• customer support: even though pruning your list is easy, having a team of experts on your side if you need help is invaluable. Some services offer 24/7 customer support, so, no matter where you are in the world, someone’s always there to lend you a hand.
• data security: is sharing your email list with a third party safe? Don’t forget to ask before you commit to any subscriptions. Your email verification service should be GDPR compliant and, also, provide proof of other data protection mechanisms in place.

The best ways to find a reliable email verifier

Doing a bit of research before you make your choice has many benefits. For instance, reading an honest review can steer you away from a potentially bad experience. So, take your time and shop around.
You can try:

• checking out several review platforms to see how the company scores.
• getting in touch with the company’s customer support team to understand what to expect.
• evaluate social media accounts and any press articles to get a feel of the brand.
• narrow your choices down to three services and create free accounts on each platform. Most email verification services offer free trials, so you can try each of them out before you make a purchase.

You’ve cleaned your email list. Now what?

First, congratulations! You’re already ahead of many of your competitors who use outdated lists. But the thing is your email list is at a risk of going bad again from the day you’ve cleaned it.
How come?
People switch to a different email provider and abandon their old email addresses. Or they change jobs, so their accounts become invalid. Furthermore, as your list grows, so does the risk of acquiring abuse emails – these belong to people who have a habit of labeling messages as spam. Who needs spam complaints? That’s right: no one.
So, what can you do? Of course, you could verify your list again in a few months. Even better, you could add an email verification API to your signup forms!

What’s an email verification API?

It’s a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk. Once you install it on your forms, it starts verifying – in real time – every email address that’s being added to your list. Whenever it encounters a risky address – such as misspelled, abuse, temporary or spam trap emails – it automatically rejects it, thus keeping your list clean.
Adding an API on your website is the safest way to prevent bad contacts from getting on your list. Plus, once you create an account with a certain email verification service, access to the API should be free. Of course, you’ll be charged for the number of email addresses the API verifies, but otherwise, there’s no extra cost.

Email marketing starts in people’s inboxes

Ask any marketer: when was the last time they converted a lead by landing in their spam folder? If you want your email marketing to work, first make sure your emails arrive in people’s inboxes.
To achieve results, keep a neat list, send helpful and entertaining content, and email people consistently.