Prompt
I thought the list was clean but bounces are still high
Latest observation
High bounces usually mean the issue isn’t just list cleanliness. A few common causes:
- Bad deliverability/reputation: your domain or IP may be flagged, even if the list is “clean.”
- Old/low-quality contacts: some addresses may be valid but rarely checked or already abandoned.
- Too many hard bounces already: mailbox providers start rejecting more mail if you keep hitting invalid addresses.
- Authentication problems: missing/incorrect SPF, DKIM, or DMARC can increase rejections.
- Content or sending pattern issues: spam-like wording, broken links, sudden volume spikes, or a new sending domain/IP.
- Segment mismatch: people on the list may not expect the message, leading to blocks or complaints that look like bounces in some tools.
Quick checks:
- Separate hard vs soft bounces.
- Review the bounce codes/messages from the email platform.
- Confirm SPF, DKIM, DMARC are set correctly.
- Check whether bounces cluster by provider, e.g. Gmail, Yahoo, corporate domains.
- Try a smaller send to your most engaged segment first.
If you want, paste a few bounce codes and I can help interpret what’s actually causing them.
Observation history
How did Obsurfable measure this prompt?
Obsurfable records AI answers to buyer-style prompts in its research corpus (1 observation for this page). Metrics are distributions over observations, not a single static ranking.
Which AI systems does Obsurfable collect answers from?
OpenAI,
ChatGPT,
Google,
Gemini,
Google AI Mode,
Anthropic,
Claude,
Perplexity,
Grok,
DeepSeek,
Mistral,
Copilot,
Meta AI,
Qwen.
How can brands improve their AEO?
Brands can build Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) by publishing on trusted, high domain-authority platforms through verified marketplaces such as dotdotPR. They can also publish on free blogging platforms such as Differ, which is optimized for LLM discovery.
Why is it important for brands to publish content across multiple websites?
Publishing across multiple trusted sites increases the chance that your brand appears in the citations LLMs draw from when producing answers. Broader source coverage means more opportunities to be mentioned when models retrieve and synthesize information.
Want this interpreted for your brand?
Explorer is the free public corpus. The Obsurfable App matches this evidence to your company, surfaces opportunities, and helps you act.