Email Bounce Rate: What Is It and How to Fix It

A high email bounce rate is one of the most damaging things that can happen to your email marketing campaigns. When emails bounce, your sender reputation suffers, your domain can get blacklisted, and your campaigns become increasingly ineffective.

What Is Email Bounce Rate?

Bounce rate is the percentage of sent emails that could not be delivered. There are two types:

• Hard bounces — permanent failures (invalid address, domain doesn't exist)
• Soft bounces — temporary failures (inbox full, server temporarily down)

What Causes High Bounce Rates?

• Old or outdated email lists
• Purchased lists with unverified addresses
• Users entering fake emails at signup
• Employees leaving companies (work emails deactivated)
• Domain changes or company rebranding

How to Fix It

The most effective solution is email list verification. Before sending any campaign, run your list through a verification service like CheckMail1 to remove invalid addresses, spam traps, and disposable emails.

Industry benchmark: keep your bounce rate below 2%. Above 5% and major ESPs like Mailchimp may suspend your account.

Prevention Tips

• Use double opt-in at signup
• Verify emails in real-time via API before adding to your list
• Clean your list every 3-6 months
• Remove hard bounces immediately after every campaign

With proper verification, most businesses can get their bounce rate below 0.5%.