How to check if an email address exists

For any email marketer, a low deliverability rate is a nightmare. The effectiveness of the mailing as a whole depends on the value of this indicator. But before looking for problems in the content of letters or domain characteristics, it is worth checking the quality of your contact database. It is possible that emails are not being delivered only because the email addresses are invalid.

Why check the reality of an email address?

Invalid addresses can end up in the contact database in different ways. For example, a user made a mistake when entering and added an extra letter or missed a symbol. Sometimes users intentionally enter a random set of letters and symbols to download useful materials for a subscription and not “expose” their real email. Or they use services to create temporary mail — such email boxes are deleted themselves after a short time. And a contact database that was collected a long time ago may simply contain deleted or blocked addresses.

It is necessary to check the reality of an email in order to:

reduce the percentage of delivery errors and returns;

not get blacklisted by mailers;

avoid spam traps;

maintain a good reputation in the email newsletter service;

reduce the cost of sending newsletters.

Verifying email addresses helps improve the performance of email newsletters without significantly changing the strategy. In addition, removing invalid addresses reduces the cost of email marketing. Since mailing services calculate payment based on the number of contacts in the database, incorrect addresses only increase the cost of sending.

How to check an email address for existence

There are several ways to check the validity of an email.

Using a data entry mask

This option helps prevent incorrect addresses from getting into the contact database. In particular, the user will not be able to write a combination that does not contain the "@" symbol, spaces, or prohibited characters. To do this, in the field intended for entering an email, specify a "data entry mask" - these are the settings:

The email login contains any number of characters, letters, and numbers;

After @, you can write any server domain name;

After the dot, you can write any domain zone.

The mask will look something like this - "aaaaaaaaa@bbbbb.ccc". If the entered address does not correspond to this format, the system will not accept it.

Getting feedback

The most obvious way to check if an email exists is to send an email. It is likely that if the response is User unknown, the recipient's address is incorrect and such a user does not exist. However, spam protection methods are constantly being improved. The response User unknown can also be sent if the email does not pass certain criteria.

Likewise, delivery of the email does not mean that the user has read it. The message may end up in spam or simply be ignored.

In addition, do not forget about abandoned emails that exist, but no one uses them. There are also "spam traps" - addresses that mail servers catch spammers' emails with the purpose of subsequent blocking.

The best way to verify the existence of an email address is to get feedback. It is necessary to add a link to the email, which the user must follow within a certain time. This is the principle used in the implementation of double opt-in - a two-step subscription.

Email Validation

Email validation is a check of email addresses for authenticity and suitability for mailings. The procedure identifies errors and typos that lead to an incorrect address and refusal. Validation also confirms whether an email exists or not.

The check is carried out using special services - validators. The general principle is as follows:

You register in the service (if required) and upload a list of emails or enter an address for verification.

The service checks addresses according to various criteria.

The service generates a report indicating which contacts are erroneous, invalid or questionable.

During the check, validator services, such as LetsExtract Email Verifie, check the syntax - the presence of spelling and grammar errors, spaces and extra commas, the correct spelling of the domain name. The recipient's domain activity and the existence of a specific email are also checked.

All real addresses undergo additional verification. The service checks that the email is not a spam trap, is not on various “black lists” and does not belong to someone who frequently complains about spam.