email-deliverability-audit

Run the audit scripts with your SMARTLEAD_API_KEY set: audit-inboxes.ts pulls the inbox inventory, check-domain-auth.ts verifies SPF/DKIM/DMARC, and audit-performance.ts pulls sent, reply, and bounce metrics. generate-report.ts then synthesizes everything into a markdown report with prioritized action items.

A healthy domain should achieve at least a 1% overall reply rate after 200 emails sent. Below 1% after 200+ sends signals a deliverability, copy, or list-quality problem. Below 200 sends there is not enough sample size to judge.

Use the run-spam-test.ts script, which creates a Smart Delivery spam placement test via Smartlead's API. It sends to roughly 200 seed mailboxes across G Suite and Office365 provider pools and reports the percentage landing in inbox versus spam versus promotions.

Under 1% is excellent and 1-2% is normal for cold outreach. Between 2-3% you should check list quality, above 3% you should verify the list and consider pausing, and above 5% you should stop immediately to protect domain reputation.

Passing all three authentication checks but still landing in spam usually indicates a domain reputation problem from sending behavior or content, not authentication. Common causes include too many inboxes per domain, aggressive warmup ramps, or spam-triggering copy.

Start with p=none for the first two weeks while monitoring aggregate reports sent to the rua address. After clean reports, tighten to p=quarantine, and only move to p=reject after 30 or more days of confirmed clean mail flow.