Reputation Builder

Inbox Intelligence (inbox placement)

Send one real email from your infrastructure and see whether it lands in Primary Inbox, Promotions, Updates, Social, Spam, or is missing across Gmail and Google Workspace seed mailboxes.

What this tells you

Blacklists and deliverability show whether your DNS and SMTP are healthy. Inbox Intelligence shows what Gmail actually does with a message from your domain: the placement your recipients experience. Results reflect your live sending reputation, authentication, and content signals.

How a placement test works

  1. Open Inbox Intelligence in the sidebar and click New Test.
  2. Enter your From email: the exact address you will send from (must match the message you send).
  3. Click Start test. SenderSignal assigns:
    • A unique Placement ID (embedded in your email so we can find it in seed mailboxes)
    • A list of seed addresses across Gmail / Google Workspace mailboxes we monitor
  4. Compose and send one email from your SMTP or ESP, not from SenderSignal. Include the Placement ID in the body (HTML or plain text). Send to all seed addresses (copy the list or download CSV).
  5. SenderSignal polls seed mailboxes automatically. Results update on the test page as each seed is found: inbox folder, spam, promotions, etc.

Send from your SMTP (important)

The test must originate from your mail server or sending platform, using the From address you specified. That is what makes results meaningful: they reflect your domain's authentication path, IP reputation, and content scoring, not a third-party relay.

  • From address must match exactly what you entered when starting the test
  • Placement ID must appear in the message body (snippets are provided on the test page)
  • Send to every seed address in the assigned list
  • Use the same subject and content you want to evaluate (marketing vs transactional)

30-minute validation window

Automatic validation for 30 minutes. From the moment you start a test, SenderSignal actively checks seed mailboxes for your Placement ID. Seeds that have not received your email within 30 minutes are marked Missing and the test moves toward completion.

This window keeps results timely and fair across providers. If you send late or delivery is slow:

  • Click Check now (Recheck) on the test page: reopens the check window using the same Placement ID and seed list
  • Resend your email if needed, then run Check now again
  • Recheck does not charge an additional test credit

You can also refresh the test page while the window is open to see live updates as seeds are found.

Reading results

Each test shows:

  • Inbox rate: percentage landing in Primary Inbox
  • Breakdown: Inbox, Promotions, Updates, Social, Spam, Missing per seed
  • Per-seed detail: open any test for folder-level results by mailbox provider

Missing usually means the message never arrived, arrived after the window closed, or the Placement ID was not found in the body. Double-check From address, seeds, and ID before rechecking.

Credits and plans

Each new test consumes placement credits according to your plan. Enterprise tiers may include unlimited tests. Your balance appears in the Inbox Intelligence header; Placement Logs shows usage history.

Providers covered

Current phase focuses on Gmail and Google Workspace. Additional providers (Outlook, Yahoo, etc.) will expand over time. The seed list for each test shows which providers are included.

Tips for accurate tests

  • Run tests from the same IP and authentication setup you use for production campaigns
  • Test both cold and warmed domains separately: reputation differs
  • Compare HTML vs plain-text variants if content filtering is a concern
  • Pair placement tests with deliverability checks and sender reputation for full context

DNS setup for Inbox Boost → · Start warmup →