Open rates don't tell you if you landed in the inbox.
A 40% open rate sounds great until you realize half your emails went to spam and the opens are from bots. Seed testing shows you actual inbox placement across every major provider.
The open rate lie
Open rates are inflated by Apple MPP, bot opens, and image prefetching. They tell you nothing about whether your email actually reached the primary inbox. Inbox placement testing sends your exact email to seed addresses across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other providers, then checks where it landed: primary, promotions, spam, or nowhere. It's the only way to know if your campaigns are actually reaching people.
How placement testing works
- 1
Seed network
We maintain a network of real seed inboxes across Gmail, Google Workspace, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, and AOL. These inboxes behave like real accounts.
- 2
Daily test sends
Before every campaign batch, we send your exact email copy to the seed network. Results come back within 30 minutes showing placement by provider.
- 3
Placement scoring
Each test generates an inbox placement score broken down by provider. We flag any domain or inbox that's dipping below 85% primary inbox placement.
- 4
Remediation
When placement drops, we diagnose the cause -- content triggers, authentication issues, reputation damage, or blocklisting -- and fix it before the next batch goes out.
What's included
- Daily seed testing across Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, AOL
- Provider-level placement breakdowns (primary, promo, spam)
- Domain-level and inbox-level health scoring
- Content trigger analysis (spam words, link patterns)
- Authentication verification on every test
- Blocklist scanning and removal coordination
- Placement trend dashboard
- Alerts when placement drops below threshold
Frequently asked questions
How is this different from checking my spam score?
Spam score tools test your email content against static rulesets. Inbox placement testing sends your actual email to real inboxes and checks where it lands. It accounts for domain reputation, sending IP, authentication, and content -- the full picture.
Can I run seed tests on my own?
You can, but maintaining a reliable seed network is expensive and time-consuming. Seed addresses get stale, providers detect testing patterns, and you need broad coverage. We handle all of that.
How often should I test?
We test before every campaign batch -- typically daily. For high-volume senders, we test multiple times per day. Continuous testing catches issues before they affect real campaigns.
Know where your emails actually land.
Book a call and get a free placement test on your current sending domains.