IP Reputation
01 Definition
IP Reputation meaning: How much mailbox providers trust the IP address that sends your email.
IP reputation is a mailbox provider's assessment of the sending IP address based on volume, complaint rates, spam trap hits, and bounce history. A poor reputation can send mail to spam or block it. Each provider maintains its own view, so reputation is not a single universal number.
Why it matters
How IP Reputation fits the work
Mailbox providers decide inbox versus spam partly by the sending IP's track record, so protecting IP reputation directly affects whether your email reaches people.
In context
A sudden spike in complaints damaged the IP reputation, so messages that once landed in the inbox began routing to the spam folder.
Practical note
On a shared IP, other senders' behavior affects your reputation; on a dedicated IP, you own it fully but must send enough volume to establish it.