What’s the difference between IP and domain listings?
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You get a blocklist alert and the first question you need to answer is: which kind of listing is this? Because an IP listing and a domain listing are very different problems, and they have very different fixes.
An IP listing targets the server doing the sending. Think of it as a ban on a specific postal truck. Every piece of mail leaving from that truck gets blocked, regardless of who sent it or what's inside. If you're on a shared IP (common with ESPs), a listing can hit other senders on that same IP too. The potential shortcut here is changing IPs, but that only works if the underlying behavior that caused the listing actually stops. Blocklists track patterns, and if nothing changes, your new IP will land in the same place.
A domain listing targets your domain name itself, not the server it came from. It follows your brand wherever you send from. Switch IPs, change ESPs, move to a new sending server. It doesn't matter. If the domain is listed, receiving servers will still flag email containing it. And that includes links inside your emails, not just your sending domain. A domain in a URL inside the body can trigger a content-based blocklist like SURBL even if your sending domain is clean.
Recovery reflects this difference:
- IP listing: Fix the sending behavior first. Then request removal. Switching to a fresh IP can be a temporary measure while you sort things out, but it's not a real fix on its own.
- Domain listing: You can't swap out the domain (well, not without consequences). You have to rehabilitate it by cleaning your list, reducing complaints, and improving engagement. Then request delisting with evidence of what changed.
Domain listings are generally harder to escape. Your IP reputation is partly tied to infrastructure you can change. Your domain reputation is tied to your brand, and the behavior that caused the listing has to genuinely stop before most blocklists will take you seriously.
If you're trying to figure out which type of listing you're actually dealing with right now, our free blocklist checker can tell you in seconds. Or if you're already blocked and need help with next steps, the SOS hotline is free.
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