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Delivery What is a Dedicated IP?
A dedicated IP is a unique address that identifies the sender’s location on the web or a local network. Benchmark provides dedicated IPs ($28.95/month) and assigns them exclusively to a single sender or company for email sending.
Owning a dedicated IP gives you full control over your sending reputation, ensuring your email deliverability isn’t affected by other senders. In addition to reputation control, a dedicated IP allows high-speed, reliable sending.
IMPORTANT
Dedicated IPs can only be assigned to paid accounts that are sending from a verified private domain. We cannot assign a dedicated IP to an account sending from a public domain (such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook).
Having a dedicated IP does not automatically guarantee higher open rates. Its effectiveness depends on following good sending practices. By sending to engaged contacts, maintaining a clean list, and properly warming up your IP, you can maximize the benefits of your dedicated IP. Poor sending practices, on the other hand, can result in being blacklisted, preventing you from sending emails from your IP.
Send to engaged contactsOnly email recipients who have previously opened your messages or clicked links in your campaigns. This helps maintain a strong reputation with ISPs.
Clean List
Keep your contact list up-to-date. This involves regularly checking your contacts to remove invalid, inactive, or unengaged email addresses, and making sure your list contains only subscribers who have opted in to receive your emails.
➡️ Check out Benchmark’s Clean List feature.
Regularly remove invalid email addresses from your list. Verified lists ensure you’re only sending to valid contacts.
IP WarmingStart sending emails at a slower pace to build a positive reputation. Benchmark automatically sets throttling for new dedicated IP users, controlling how many emails can be sent initially. Once your IP reputation is established, you can increase your sending volume.
Email AuthenticationSet up authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to prove to ISPs that you are who you say you are. Think of it as showing a valid ID; without it, your messages may not be trusted.
➡️ Learn how to set up authentication.
Permission-Based ListsUse only permission-based or confirmed opt-in lists. This reduces bounce rates and spam complaints.
Minimize spam complaints
With a dedicated IP, your reputation depends solely on your sending practices. Fewer complaints mean better deliverability.
Maintain a valid list
Avoid purchased lists, third-party lists, or harvested email addresses. Sending to these can harm your IP reputation.
