Most people set this up once and never open it again. It's the closest thing to a direct line into how Gmail sees your domain.
Google Postmaster Tools is free, takes ten minutes to set up, and gives you data no third-party tool can estimate: your actual reputation inside Gmail, reported by Google. Most accounts we inherit were set up once, during an onboarding checklist, and never checked again.
Verify your domain by adding a DNS TXT record Google provides. Data only populates once your domain sends a minimum volume to Gmail addresses, so a new or low-volume domain may see empty graphs for a while even with verification done correctly. That's expected, not a setup error.
These are two separate graphs measuring two different things. Domain reputation tracks your sending domain specifically, and follows you even if you change IPs or sending platforms. IP reputation tracks the sending IP, which on a shared IP reflects every sender using that address, not just you. If domain reputation looks fine but IP reputation looks bad, the problem usually belongs to someone else sharing your IP, which is one real argument for a dedicated IP at sufficient volume.
This graph shows the percentage of your mail that Gmail users mark as spam. Google's own guidance flags anything consistently above 0.3% as a real problem. We treat 0.1% as the working target for clients, since it leaves margin before a normal spike crosses into dangerous territory. A spike that resolves on its own is still worth investigating, since the cause, often a bad list segment or a compromised send, tends to repeat if unaddressed.
The Authentication tab shows what percentage of your mail passes SPF and DKIM, which should sit near 100% for a correctly configured domain; anything lower points straight back to a records problem. The Encryption tab shows the share of your mail sent over TLS, which matters for both security and how some filters weigh trust. The Delivery Errors tab breaks down why messages were rejected, with specific error codes instead of a vague bounce.
Check what changed right before the drop: a new list segment, a platform migration, a sudden volume increase. Reputation drops are almost always traceable to a specific change, not a random event, and fixing that change plus a period of clean sending is what brings the graph back up. There's no override or appeal process that skips the rebuilding period.
Haven't set this up yet? It's free and takes ten minutes: verify your domain at postmaster.google.com, then check back in a week once data starts populating.
Google requires a minimum sending volume to Gmail addresses before it shows reputation data, and the domain must be verified through a DNS TXT record first. A low-volume sender or a domain added days ago often sees empty graphs until both conditions are met.
Google's own guidance flags anything consistently above 0.3% as a problem. We treat 0.1% as the real target, since that leaves margin before a normal spike crosses into dangerous territory. A spam rate graph that's spiked at all is worth investigating, even if it's back under the line now.
It usually means you're on a shared IP and another sender using the same IP is causing the problem, since IP reputation reflects everyone sending from that address, not just you. Domain reputation stays tied to your domain specifically, which is one reason a dedicated IP can be worth the switch at real volume.
Send us a screenshot of your dashboard. We'll tell you what's a problem and what's normal variance.
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