What inbox placement is#
Inbox placement is the percentage of sent mail that lands in the primary inbox rather than spam, promotions, or being blocked. It is measured with seed lists across major providers and panel data from real mailboxes.
Why it matters#
Delivery rate (accepted by the server) hides the real problem: mail accepted into the spam folder. Placement is the metric that predicts revenue.
What Resend handles#
Most platforms, including Resend, generate the records or settings you need under a domain authentication or sending settings page, and expose bounce and complaint data in reports. Confirm the exact location in Resend's current documentation.
What you still own#
- Create seed accounts at Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, iCloud, and key B2B gateways.
- Send each campaign to the seed list before the full send.
- Record inbox, spam, promotions, and missing counts per provider.
- Correlate drops with content, sending domain, or list segment changes.
- Fix authentication, reputation, or content issues before scaling.
Common mistakes#
- Trusting a single seed mailbox per provider; use several with different engagement histories.
- Optimizing for the seed test and not real recipient engagement.
Frequently asked questions#
Why does mail land in Gmail Promotions?
Gmail classifies by content and sender behavior. Promotions is not spam and often performs well; do not over-optimize to escape it.
What is a good inbox placement rate?
Above 90% is healthy. Below 80% indicates a reputation or authentication problem.
Does Resend set up inbox placement automatically?
Resend provides the values and some checks, but publishing DNS, aligning domains, and monitoring results remain your responsibility.