What’s the difference between IP vs domain recovery paths?

Your delivery rates have tanked and you need to fix it. But before you start pulling levers, you need to know which reputation is actually damaged. The steps you take for IP recovery are different from the steps you take for domain recovery, and fixing the wrong one wastes time you probably don't have.

Here's the short version: IP reputation can be reset by switching IPs or getting delisted. Domain reputation follows you everywhere, and the only fix is behavioral change over time.

How to tell which one is the problem

Start by checking if your sending IP is on any blocklists. You can run a free check with our blocklist checker. If your IP shows up on Spamhaus or Barracuda, that's a strong signal your IP reputation is part of the problem.

Next, check whether sending from a completely different IP (or via a different ESP) makes any difference. If your domain still gets filtered even from a clean IP, your domain reputation is the real issue. If a new IP clears things up immediately, the domain is likely still in good standing and your infrastructure was the problem.

IP recovery path

IP recovery is mostly an infrastructure fix. Here's how it works in practice.

• Request delisting. If your IP is on a blocklist, file a delisting request directly with the blocklist operator. Spamhaus and Barracuda both have self-service portals. Be honest about what caused the problem and what you've done to fix it.
• Consider a new IP. If the damage is severe and delisting keeps failing, switching to a fresh IP is a real option. You'll need to warm it up gradually before resuming full volume.
• Fix the root cause first. A new IP with the same broken sending practices will be back on blocklists within weeks. IP recovery only sticks if you also address what caused the damage.

IP reputation is more forgiving precisely because you can start fresh. Think of it as replacing a damaged engine. You still need to drive more carefully going forward, but the car can run cleanly again relatively quickly.

Domain recovery path

Domain recovery is slower and requires genuine behavioral change. You can't swap your domain the way you swap an IP (your brand is attached to it), so mailbox providers need to see that your sending has actually improved.

• Clean your list aggressively. Remove anyone who hasn't engaged in the past 90 days. High bounce rates and spam complaints are what damaged the domain in the first place. Stop sending to addresses that are hurting you.
• Reduce volume and focus on your best subscribers. Send only to your most engaged segment while you rebuild. This improves your engagement ratios and starts generating positive signals with mailbox providers.
• Ramp back up slowly. Once engagement rates stabilize, gradually expand who you're sending to. Don't jump back to full volume until your metrics are consistently healthy.
• Monitor progress by ISP. Recovery doesn't happen at the same speed everywhere. Check your inbox placement rates with Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook separately. Some ISPs will trust you again faster than others.

Domain reputation follows you because mailbox providers track your sending history at the domain level, not just the IP level. Changing ESPs doesn't reset it. Moving to a new IP doesn't reset it. The only path forward is proving, over weeks of consistent sending, that your practices have changed. (If that's too slow, the clean-slate approach with a new sending subdomain is worth considering.)

What if both are damaged?

It happens. If your IP is blocklisted AND your domain reputation is poor, fix the IP situation first so you have a clean sending environment. Then focus on the behavioral work required to rebuild domain trust. Trying to recover both simultaneously without separating the problems just creates noise in your diagnostics.

So if you're not sure where to start, our free blocklist checker is a good first step. And if things are breaking right now, our SOS hotline is free, no pitch, just help.