Klaviyo Email Deliverability: How to Fix Emails Going to Spam

Best Practices

Klaviyo is a popular email platform for ecommerce brands, but using it doesn't guarantee your emails reach the inbox. If your Klaviyo emails are going to spam or bouncing, the issue is almost always authentication, domain reputation, or list quality — not Klaviyo itself.

Here's how to diagnose and fix Klaviyo deliverability problems.

Setting Up Authentication in Klaviyo

Klaviyo requires you to authenticate your sending domain. Without this, your emails are sent from Klaviyo's shared domain, which hurts deliverability because mailbox providers can't verify you as the legitimate sender.

Adding Your Sending Domain

SPF Configuration

Klaviyo's SPF include value is:

include:_spf.klaviyo.com

Add this to your existing SPF record. If you already have an SPF record for Google Workspace, it should look like:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.klaviyo.com ~all

Don't create a second SPF record — merge it into your existing one. Check your SPF record after making changes.

DKIM Setup

Klaviyo provides CNAME records for DKIM (typically two records). These are generated per-account, so use the exact values from your Klaviyo dashboard — don't copy them from documentation or other accounts.

After adding the CNAME records, Klaviyo signs your outgoing email with DKIM automatically.

Common Klaviyo Deliverability Issues

Emails Going to Spam

If your Klaviyo emails land in spam, work through these checks:

1. Authentication failing — Run a deliverability check on your domain. If SPF, DKIM, or DMARC shows failures, fix authentication first.
2. No DMARC record — Google and Yahoo require a DMARC record. Even p=none satisfies the minimum requirement.
3. High complaint rate — Check Google Postmaster Tools. If your complaint rate is above 0.1%, you need to improve list quality.
4. Domain reputation — If your domain reputation in Postmaster Tools is "Low" or "Bad," your content and sending practices need an overhaul.
5. Content issues — Overly promotional subject lines, image-only emails, or excessive links can trigger spam filters.

Bounced Emails

Klaviyo tracks bounces and automatically suppresses hard bounces. Check your bounce types:

If you're seeing many bounces on a campaign, check whether you recently imported a list. Imported lists often contain old, invalid addresses.

Low Open Rates

Low opens compound deliverability problems. Mailbox providers use engagement as a signal — if most recipients don't open your email, providers route future messages to spam.

Causes in Klaviyo:

• Sending to your full list instead of engaged segments
• Flows that continue sending to unresponsive recipients indefinitely
• Subject lines that don't stand out in crowded inboxes

Fix: Create engaged segments in Klaviyo (opened or clicked in the last 90 days) and focus campaigns on these segments.

Klaviyo-Specific Best Practices

Segment by Engagement

Klaviyo's segmentation is powerful — use it for deliverability:

• Highly engaged — Opened or clicked in the last 30 days → send all campaigns
• Engaged — Opened or clicked in the last 90 days → send most campaigns
• At risk — No engagement in 90–180 days → reduce frequency, send re-engagement flow
• Inactive — No engagement in 180+ days → stop sending, run sunset flow

Review Your Flows

Automated flows are a strength of Klaviyo, but they can hurt deliverability if they keep sending to unresponsive recipients:

• Set flow filters to exclude recipients who haven't engaged recently
• Add time delays between flow emails
• End flows after a reasonable number of sends without engagement
• Monitor per-flow bounce and complaint rates

Manage Your Suppressed Profiles

Klaviyo maintains a suppression list of addresses that have bounced, complained, or unsubscribed. Never attempt to re-import suppressed addresses. If someone is suppressed, there's a reason — overriding it will damage your reputation.

Dedicated Sending Domain vs Shared

Klaviyo offers shared and dedicated sending infrastructure. If you send 50,000+ emails per month, consider a dedicated sending domain. This isolates your reputation from other Klaviyo senders.

Monitoring Klaviyo Deliverability

Track these metrics in Klaviyo's analytics:

Also check Google Postmaster Tools separately for Gmail-specific data — Klaviyo's metrics don't show Gmail spam placement.