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A valid email address is a string of characters that identifies a unique email mailbox for message delivery. It includes a username, the @ symbol, and a domain name. The username can contain alphanumeric characters, special characters, and periods, while the domain name contains a top-level domain such as .com, .org, .edu, or .gov. The email address must conform to certain rules to be considered valid, including the absence of spaces and certain special characters, and the presence of a valid top-level domain.
A valid email address is important for several reasons. First, it ensures that email messages are delivered to the intended recipient. If an email address is invalid, messages may bounce back or be marked as spam, which can negatively impact email deliverability. Second, a valid email address is essential for online security. Email addresses are often used as login credentials for online accounts, and a valid email address is necessary to verify account ownership and reset passwords. Finally, a valid email address is crucial for email marketing campaigns. Email marketers rely on valid email addresses to reach their target audience and avoid being marked as spam.

Catch All

A company can have set up its email server as a "catch-all" domain, which means that the server can receive all the emails linked to this domain, even if the address doesn't exist. In that case, it'll be impossible for you to know if an email address truly exists or not.

Catch-all, sometimes called accept-all, means that the receiving address accepts all incoming emails. This is useful whenever the sender makes a typo or enters an invalid email on your domain. Instead of bouncing the email back, the server redirects it to the catch-all inbox.
This status refers to a type of email known as catch-alls. Catch-alls are valid addresses that accept emails initially sent to an invalid address on a domain. These risky emails receive their own status, as they can harm your reputation if the inbox is unmanaged or dormant.

Unknown

On the other hand, the status “Unknown – Unreachable” refers to situations where the email server is not reachable or verifiable by the validation service. This could be due to various reasons, such as the sensitivity of the email server blocking validation IPs or temporary network issues.

“Unknown” is the result code that is used for anything but a conclusive result (i.e. anything other than “verified”, “undeliverable”, “unreachable”, “illegitimate” or “disposable”). An email address that falls under this category has passed all of our domain and formatting checks, and our rule-based checks (e.g. not a known, disposable domain, not a known trap, etc.), but we were unable to definitively determine whether or not the mailbox, itself, is deliverable.
The most common reason this happens is that the domain is configured to be “accept-all," meaning that its mail servers do not reject invalid addresses when we query them, but rather, accept all addresses that we try. Normally, when we query a mail server with an invalid email address, we’ll say, “Hi, mail server, does this address exist?” and it will say, “Nope, no such mailbox exists”. These “accept-all” domains will instead say, “Yes, please proceed” — even when the email address does not exist. Senders only receive a non-delivery report after actually sending an email message. So without sending a message (which we never do), it is impossible to validate addresses from these domains.
We identify these domains by not accepting a mail server’s reply at face value unless we’ve seen it recently reject an address that is statistically certainly invalid (e.g. d1a833hd8aysa8@thedomain.com). If it accepts the address, we know the domain is accept-all, and we therefore don’t trust subsequent replies to be meaningful. If this is the case, rather than saying “verified” merely because the mail server accepted the address, we try to avoid giving you a false sense of confidence, and instead say, “unknown.”
Another common reason unknown results occur is because we cannot get a conclusive result within a certain period of time. This occurs through API integrations when a timeout is set. On our website we set a timeout of a few seconds, and it’s possible that with at least one of your test emails, we defaulted to unknown because we didn’t get a reply quickly enough.
There are a few areas where "unknown" results are more common. For B2B lists, these sorts of domains are relatively common, often yielding "unknown" rates of anywhere from 10% to 60%; 20~30% is most typical, however. In the US, we have slightly higher domain/ISP coverage, so "unknown" results may be more common for international data.
We suggest uploading your verified results, along with a small percentage of your unknowns, then gradually adding in the remaining unknowns over time. Depending on your verified-to-unknown results ratio, we suggest splitting up the unknowns into one or more batches and upload over a period of time. It is important to keep in mind that, if your total verified results are, for example, 36% of your total, we can typically expect 36% of your unknowns to be valid, deliverable email addresses. Also understand that you will see bounces from the unknowns.

Disposable

Many people use disposable emails to sign up to services or receive freebies so they can keep their inbox free of marketing emails and spam. These are risky because while they might be delivered at first, they have no engagement and often become inactive after a period of time.

Disposable email addresses are one-use emails that people sign up for a short amount of time and then never use again.
People can use these burner emails for several reasons. First, if they want access to gated content or a promo code, they’ll use a disposable email to keep their primary personal or business email free from marketing clutter or spam.
Others may use a disposable email to keep their personal information private and protected when dealing with a website or other third party they may not fully trust. Of course, spammers can also use disposable emails for fraudulent activity.
Disposable emails are zero-value emails for your email lists. Many users are using these short-term, so it’s more likely the user has abandoned a disposable email by the time you send to them. You’re likely not going to reach the person you wanted to, which is a waste of marketing efforts. Also, if the disposable email address expires and you email it anyway, you’ll end up with a hard bounce on your hands. Talk about bad news for your sender reputation and email deliverability! High volumes of hard bounces send a negative signal to mailbox providers which can result in your messages being flagged as spam.
Detecting disposable emails and removing them from your databases is the best way to handle them.

Invalid

An invalid email occurs when you attempt to send email to an address that is formatted in a manner that does not meet internet email format standards or the email does not exist at the recipient's mail server.

Discovering and addressing invalid email addresses is crucial for maintaining the effectiveness of your email campaigns. Understanding the various facets of invalid email addresses and how to handle them ensures that your emails reach their intended recipients. Explore the following sections to gain insights into dealing with invalid email formats.
An invalid email occurs when you attempt to send email to an address that is formatted in a manner that does not meet internet email format standards or the email does not exist at the recipient's mail server. Examples include addresses without the “@” sign or addresses that include certain special characters and/or spaces. This response can come from our own server or the recipient mail server.

Upgrade to Ultra Pro

Catch-all & Unknown emails contain untapped opportunities

By using and gaining access to Ultra Pro, you can rest assured that neither your domain nor the IP reputation will be at risk. Furthermore, you will receive two times more open and response rates. This, in turn, prominently impacts your campaign’s Return-on-Investment.

  • Validation Accuracy: With almost 98% accuracy level, Unlimited Pro or Ultra reduces your Email bounces.
  • Data Security: Ultra Pro maintains a high level of data security and GDPR compliance.
Boost email deliverability with precision

Our email validation service makes sure your efforts don’t go in vain. By filtering out invalid email addresses, we boost your deliverability rates and reduce the risk of your offer being marked as spam.

Quality Intelligence = Quality Connections

The quality of your list determines the performance of your campaign. With our Risky Email Validation, you can finally have confidence in your campaign strategy. Unlimited Pro eliminates uncertainty, ensuring every connection you make contributes to the success of your business.

72% Exclude Risky Contacts: Email Marketing’s Missed Opportunity

Navigating the complexities of email marketing communications, sales, marketers, HR/TA, recruiting, staffing and decision makers frequently encounter the challenge of managing risky or catch-all emails. These addresses, making up an average of 40% of email lists, pose a significant risk to sender reputation and campaign effectiveness due to their uncertain nature. A recent survey revealed a split in strategies among marketers: a significant 72% avoided these emails altogether, potentially missing out on valuable leads, while others took the risk, affecting their deliverability rates.

Recognizing the critical need for a reliable solution, Ultra Pro steps in with an innovative approach, offering an unprecedented 98% accuracy rate in email validation. This precision allows you to confidently leverage our entire Who’s Who, turning previously considered risky emails into valuable opportunities for engagement.

Validating ‘Catch-All’ Emails

How to verify catch-all emails at scale and unlock 42% more leads.

If you’ve dived into the world of email marketing, chances are you’ve bumped into terms like accept-all or catch-all email addresses. You might be wondering, what is a catch-all & unknown email and how can you verify them?

Here’s the thing. Majority of people either leave out catch-all and unknown emails or risk their deliverability by including them. By not verifying catch-all & unknown emails. you’re leaving out a whopping 42% of your lead list. In other words, you’re missing out on a ton of relationships, money and leads.

Risky emails are often brushed aside by conventional validation tools and data providers or slapped with a low confidence score. As a result, most people exclude them from their campaigns because they can bounce and/or damage their deliverability.

Instead of discarding these risky emails, you should harness them to go from rejection to discovery, and turn risky emails into opportunities.

Why? Valid risky emails have 67% higher engagement rates because they are targeted less.

Ultra Pro users add a few extra layers to identify which ‘Catch-all’ & ‘Unknown’ emails are valid and invalid.

These are often treasure-troves of contacts that have been hit less in the inbox and are likely to be more receptive to your offer. The result? More meetings booked, more pipeline, and more revenue/growth.

Bottom Line

Validating risky and/or catch all emails is indispensable for individuals and organizations seeking to maintain the security, efficiency, and reliability of their digital communications. By employing robust validation methods, leveraging advanced tools, and adhering to best practices, stakeholders can mitigate the risks associated with invalid email addresses and enhance the overall effectiveness of their email campaigns.

As the digital landscape continues to evolve, the importance of email validation will only grow, necessitating ongoing vigilance and proactive measures to uphold the integrity of email communications. By prioritizing email validation and staying abreast of emerging trends and technologies in this domain, stakeholders can fortify their digital presence and foster trust and confidence among their audiences.