Bulk Email Verification: How to Clean 100,000 Addresses Before Your Next Campaign
You have got 100,000 addresses in your email marketing database. Your last campaign bounced at 4.2% - well above the 0.5% industry safe threshold. It is time for a bulk verification pass. Here is exactly how to do it.
Understanding verification result statuses
Valid / Deliverable
The address exists, the mailbox accepts email, and everything checked out. Safe to send.
Invalid / Undeliverable
The address does not exist or the domain does not accept email. Hard remove from your list.
Catch-all / Accept-all
The domain accepts all incoming email without verifying whether the specific mailbox exists. Strategy depends on context.
Disposable / Temporary
The address is from a temporary email provider. Remove immediately.
Role address
Addresses like info@ are shared inboxes. High spam complaint risk. Suppress unless sending account-level communications.
Benchmarks: what a typical list looks like
Valid: 70-85%. Invalid: 5-15%. Catch-all: 5-15%. Disposable: 1-5%. Role: 1-3%.
Post-verification: what to do next
- Import validated addresses back to your ESP
- Add hard-removes to your global suppression list permanently
- Tag addresses by verification status
- Analyse your bad data by acquisition source
