SalesQL uses multiple mechanisms to determine whether an email address is valid or not. These mechanisms include:
- Talking to the email server to ask whether the email is a valid recipient or not.
- Checking whether the email address is publicly available on any trusted website (for example, the website of the company the person works for).
- Checking whether the email address is listed on the person's LinkedIn profile.
SalesQL combines all these methods and performs periodic checks to determine whether the emails are still valid. However, none of these methods is 100% accurate, as people often switch positions and change their email addresses without updating their LinkedIn profile accordingly.
An unverifiable email will be marked with a warning sign, as indicated in the graphic below:
In Prospector, verification is shown differently: verified emails have an A+ badge next to them, and unverifiable emails appear without it. The warning sign above is still used in the Chrome extension and your Contact List.
Why are some email addresses unverifiable?
Some companies choose to simply accept all emails sent to the company domain. If a recipient mailbox does not exist, the company redirects the email to a generic mailbox such as info@domain.com.
Other companies use these "accept all" policies to protect the email server. So, during the communication with the email server, they first say the address is valid, but when the email is delivered, it bounces back. Here is an example from Google (google.com has an "accept all" policy):
Even the best validation methods can't guarantee accuracy against an "accept all" domain, since the server itself is saying every address is valid — there's no way to tell from the outside whether a specific mailbox truly exists. That's why SalesQL runs periodic checks and keeps validation up to date, and why you can always run a manual check yourself with the Email Verifier if you want a fresh read on a specific address.
Does SalesQL charge credits for unverifiable emails?
Yes, SalesQL charges credits when the software finds at least one email address. We do not charge credits for contacts when no address can be found.
For more information, check out the article on How credits are consumed.
Where are these unverified addresses coming from?
By finding and validating addresses from a variety of sources, we can calculate the probability of an organization maintaining a specific pattern for its addresses, and create a "best guess" formula on this basis.
For example, when we search for addresses at Acce
nture, we find that the validated addresses follow three main structures, with one being extremely dominant:
- 71% use the pattern [FIRST_NAME].[LAST_NAME]@accenture.com
- 4% use the pattern [FIRST_NAME_INITIAL].[LAST_NAME]@accenture.com
- 25% use various other patterns
Given that over 70% of addresses follow the [FIRST_NAME].[LAST_NAME]@accenture.com pattern, we take this as our best guess if we can't find a valid source for a particular individual within Accenture.
How can I reduce the percentage of email bounces?
In order to reduce email bounces, you can filter out the addresses that are unverifiable and export only those that are valid. There is an option for this in the export settings:
When you uncheck that box, you will only export addresses that are considered valid, reducing bounce rates to a minimum.
For a full pre-send workflow, check out How to reduce bounce rates before sending campaigns.
Frequently asked questions
Why are some email addresses unverifiable?
Some companies accept all emails sent to their domain, redirecting them to a generic mailbox or bouncing them later. Because the server says every address is valid, no method can confirm from the outside whether a specific mailbox exists.
Does SalesQL charge credits for unverifiable emails?
Yes. SalesQL charges credits when it finds at least one email address for a contact. No credits are charged when no address can be found.
Where are these unverified addresses coming from?
SalesQL validates addresses from many sources to learn the email pattern each organization uses. When there is no valid source for a person, it applies the company's dominant pattern as a best guess.
How can I reduce the percentage of email bounces?
Filter out unverifiable addresses when you export. Unchecking that option in the export settings exports only addresses considered valid, which keeps bounce rates to a minimum.