Google is Trying to Put Me Out of Business
If you are a Gmail or G Suite user, you may not be getting my updates (including this one). You are not alone. Google seems to have blocked my domain in its communication products and messages from me (blog updates, emails, etc.) are going to spam for many users of those products (and “unspamming” or saving my email in the address book are not effective at preventing my messages from going to spam).
There are things I can do as a website owner to ensure my domain and the emails I send are not “spammy,” such as making sure the site is updated (it is) and my email configuration conforms to standards (it is, I check regularly; but my emails, particularly the newsletters, are often considered spammy given the number of links contained in them – since the links are what make the newsletters useful, there isn’t much I can do about that).
My search results have also been affected (but that may be due to updates of Google’s search engine algorithm between 2023 and 2024 that has, apparently, started forcing small businesses to shutter. Google has been known to block websites with no explanation, and there is no way to resolve the block if it happens (because Google does not offer technical support for the free products it offers), unless the affected website switches to a paid service with Google (personally, I call that extortion, but that’s just me).
What Google has done is harming my business (my students and followers who email me are not getting my replies in a timely fashion because no one checks spam anymore, thanks to Google – the spam folder is basically hidden and you have to look for it). I contacted my congressman’s office back in 2020 when this first happened and also filed a complaint with the California Office of the Attorney General. But, obviously, given how things have progressed, I’ll probably go out of business before anything happens to Google.
The current workaround I have for Gmail users is to set up a filter to funnel all emails from my domain to the inbox (instructions). But that only works for my emails, not the blog updates (those are sent through WordPress). You may need to check your spam folder regularly going forward if you want to see updates from me (might be a good idea to do that anyway; a lot of emails from the UCs end up in spam too).
I had a good run. This has been fun. I’ll keep working until the tide of Google overwhelms me. If I don’t hear from you or you don’t hear from me (because Google highjacked the communication), I wish you well.
25 Comments
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Hi Ms. Sun – I’m still getting your emails and blogposts! YAY! You offer such an invaluable service to families and students! I hope you can make the tech work for you! You really are a wonderful resource for many! Best Wishes!
Thank you for letting me know you are receiving my updates uninterrupted and I appreciate your kind words!
fyi, I received your blog update to my gmail account and haven’t had any of your previous emails end up in my spam. Sorry to hear others are having problems.
Thank you for the update!
Hi Ms. Sun
I am receiving all you communications. Thanks you for the great work!
Thanks! 🙂
I’m so sorry to hear this news – my daughter is starting her junior year and I was counting on your content! Can you put subscription content on your own website with password protection and then send those on your list emails when new content is available?
I tried the password-protected content for a while and the setup I can get in my current website configuration is really unsatisfactory. To do it well, at least based on what I’ve been advised, I have to convert my entire website to a membership-based design; that would require everyone to sign up for an account (free or paid) in order to access content, which I thought created too much barrier to new visitors (no ready access to content). Even then, there is no guarantee the notification emails won’t end up in spam (I also looked into Mailchimp and it does next to nothing to help outgoing messages avoid the spam folder).
There’s a lot of limitation to off-the-shelf website design and to get truly custom design that would meet the needs of my audience, I’m looking at a $25k-$30k initial investment and a likely twenty-fold increase in ongoing maintenance cost (from ~$30/month to ~$600/month). At that point, I’d be spending most of my time managing my website and trying to generate passive income to offset ongoing costs (invariably that’s what happens), instead of generating useful content for my followers (currently I only make money from people who sign up for service, I don’t have any passive income revenue stream set up on my website, like ads, branded content, or merchandise).
The issue comes down to I don’t know how or why Google is blocking my domain in some or most of its Gmail and G Suite users. A significant number of Gmail users have complained to me about not getting any of my emails (everything is going to spam), some are getting some of my emails but not others (around half or more are going to spam), and some are getting my emails fine (everything is in the inbox). My IP reputation is fine (not being blacklisted) and my email configuration (SPF and DKIM) checks out. I looked around online and basically everyone is saying that the only way Google will look into the problem is if you are a paid customer for one of its products (I previously looked into switching to G Suite and, based on my setup, I’m looking at ~$100/month additional cost, which is why I didn’t switch; now that I’m basically being extorted, I’m definitely not switching).
I’ll stick around. I’d like to see what Google is up to and maybe I’ll get my 15 minutes of fame testifying in front of congress as an example of a minority, female owned small business getting crushed by tech giants.
I got this one and I certainly hope to continue to receive all of your content. The information you provide is invaluable!
Thank you for letting me know! ❤️
This is how I solve that problem from my end… https://eit.ces.ncsu.edu/2023/01/how-to-stop-legitimate-emails-from-getting-marked-as-spam-in-gmail/
Thank you for sharing! ❤️
Hi, I’m sorry you’re having this problem. I wanted to let you know that this email was in my main box and I received it about 20 minutes ago. I find your content really helpful, so I hope you’re able to work through this frustration.
Thank you! ❤️
I get your emails just fine! no issues – and I use google mail
I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for letting me know!
I’m glad to hear that. Thank you for letting me know!
I am exasperated at what Google is doing to your site! I did get your update. I had referred your site to a lot of my friends. I hope you can somehow straighten this out with Google.
Thank you for your support! ❤️
I have a gmail account and received this email. I really appreciate all the valuable information you share and hope to continue receiving your updates. Thank you for everything you do!
Thank you for your kind words! ❤️
I received this to a hotmail account, via Outlook. I am so sorry you are having this problem! Your blog and content are invaluable. I am an IEC and refer you to families all the time. Hoping you can get this resolved soon! If anyone can do it, you can. Maybe you reached a google exec parent with this post who will be hustling to get this fixed (so their kid can benefit from your content!)
Thank you for the suggestion! 😄
Your email is still reaching my regular Google inbox. I’m very sorry this is happening. My work around with my clients is that I send a text when I send out important communication alerting them to look for my email- which is sometimes in the promotions or spam folder. It has worked well so far. Good luck!
Thank you! I text my clients for super important communications (don’t want to overwhelm them with a ton of text either!). Where I’m having the most problems is actually my replies to the random “help!!!” emails I frequently receive.