Deliverability vs Delivered: Why Your 98% ‘Success Rate’ Might Be Lying

If your email tool is bragging about a 98% delivery rate, hold the celebration — because that number doesn’t mean what you think it does.

Most email platforms are only measuring delivery, not deliverability. And there's a big difference.

Delivered ≠ Inboxed

Let’s define it clearly:

A message can be delivered but never seen. Because being delivered to the Spam folder, the Promotions tab, or corporate quarantine isn’t the goal.

Your goal is simple: visibility.

Why That “98% Delivered” Metric Is Misleading

Here’s why it doesn’t tell the whole story:

• Spam and Promotions still count as 'delivered'

• Silent drops (emails discarded by filters) are marked as delivered

• False positives from bots loading images can inflate open rates

So if your outreach isn’t getting replies, your deliverability might be broken — even with a 98% delivery rate.

Mailbox providers care about trust. If you’re not authenticating properly, building your reputation gradually, or engaging your audience — you’ll end up flagged, filtered, or ignored.

What Actually Impacts Inbox Placement

There are multiple technical and behavioural signals that email providers look at when deciding where your email goes:

These are all evaluated before your copy is even read. The decision to inbox or spam you is made in milliseconds — and it’s not based on your open rate.

What You Should Be Tracking Instead

Let’s fix the metrics mindset. Here are the KPIs that actually matter:

1. Inbox Placement Rate (IPR)

• What it is: % of emails that land in the Primary Inbox (not Promotions/Spam)

• How to test it:

  • Use inbox testing tools, eg Mailreach or Glockapps

  • Send to a mix of seed inboxes across Google Workspace, Office365

  • Manually check where your email landed

  • Use Mission Inbox’s integrated seed inbox tracker to test across providers automatically

2. Reply Rate

• Real human replies = you landed in a real inbox

• Use this as your gold standard KPI for deliverability

3. Positive Reply Rate

• Are people responding with interest, questions, or meetings?

• Even "Not now" is better than silence — it means they saw you

4. Lead-to-Meeting Rate

• Ultimate goal: Did your cold email create pipeline?

5. Domain & IP Reputation Monitoring

• Use Google Postmaster Tools for domain health

• Use Microsoft SNDS for Outlook sender rep (if you own the IPs or are using dedicated IPs)

• Run blacklist checks on Talos Intelligence or MXToolbox

• Use Mission Inbox’s rep dashboard to track trust signals daily

How to Fix Poor Deliverability

Step 1: Fix Your Infrastructure

• Set up and align SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (use strict alignment settings)

• Avoid using links entirely.

Step 2: Build Reputation the Right Way

• Warm up new domains slowly

• Send from aged domains if possible

• Keep bounce rates below 2% and spam complaints near 0%

• Avoid sudden sending volume spikes

Step 3: Send Better Emails

• Ditch the templates — write like a human

• Personalize beyond {FirstName}

• Keep HTML minimal or send in plain text

• Avoid phrases like “Act Now,” “FREE,” “Only 2 Left!”

• Use Mission Inbox’s spam check engine to flag risky language, broken headers, or domain mismatches before you hit send

Deliverability Is a Strategy — Not a Metric

Here’s the real KPI equation:

Visibility → Engagement → Conversion.

If people don’t see you, they can’t reply. If they don’t reply, you won’t book meetings.

Forget vanity stats. Focus on:

• Inbox rate

• Reputation scores

• Real human engagement

TL;DR

Ready to Fix Your Deliverability for Real?

Get clear, actionable insights into your inbox placement, reputation health, and sending infrastructure, all in one platform — Mission Inbox.

No more guesswork. Just better delivery.