Shared IPs
Have you ever had a virtual mailing address where you could receive mail at a shared location or perhaps you are reading this in your shared office space? This is pretty much how a shared IP works. You are co-locating your mail streams with several other senders. Here are some things to consider with a shared IP.
- No reputation control. With a shared IP, you are at the mercy of your sending cohorts. If they are following email best practices, then you can reap the benefits of an IP address with a high reputation, but if not, there is little you can do to ensure high delivery rates. In either case, it’s important for your SMTP provider to regularly monitor sender activity to ensure that everyone is adhering to the rules of the road and maximizing the opportunity for their customers.
- Low volume sender. If you send less than 100k emails per year, then it might not be worth moving to a dedicated IP especially if your ESP makes it cost prohibitive. ISPs like to see consistent patterns in sending so if you don’t have high activity levels you could end up with no reputation resulting in low email delivery rates.
Dedicated IPs
Very much like your home address, you will be the only domain sending email over a dedicated IP address. The benefits of a dedicated IP are as follows.
- Full reputation control. By being the only domain sending over an IP, you can control and monitor your sending reputation directly.In this way, you don’t have to worry about being affected by another sender’s activity. Instead, you can focus on building a healthy email program and utilize email delivery tools to optimize your email program.
- High volume sender. If you send over 100k emails per year, it might benefit you to switch to a dedicated IP address. At this point, you will establish a consistent sending pattern and can build a solid reputation. You can also take advantage of other services like whitelisting for improved email deliverability.
Shared vs. Dedicated
Most senders start out on a shared IP and then move to a dedicated IP once their email program grows and matures. Depending on your provider, getting a dedicated IP can be pricey, but BDWEB IT focuses on affordability by giving you a dedicated IP starting at our any smtp plan and charging just $5 per month for each dedicated IP thereafter. Even if you send less email than noted above, use consistency as the driver in your decision to go the shared or dedicated route. In the end, you want maximum control. Sharing is great for some things such as likes and pins, but not so much for your reputation.
