If you thought the “traffic apocalypse” we walked your through last was bad, Gmail just handed every B2B marketer a fresh new headache. If you’ve noticed your Gmail numbers tanking last month, here's why. November came with a deliverability shakeup that knocked some senders back as much as 50 percent overnight. Google quietly tightened its filters, and suddenly every marketer’s most reliable channel got a whole lot less predictable.
The impacts are being felt in Google Workspace, Microsoft, and premium SMTP services. Even well-configured domains aren’t immune.
Quick shout out to Dr. Jay Feldman and team who've been running ongoing tests to help surface what’s actually happening, and what’s still unclear.
Here’s what changed, why it matters, and what smart B2B marketers should do now.
Two major forces collided in November:
Gmail has been warning us since early 2024 that stricter policies were coming. November 2025 is when enforcement got real.
If you send more than 5,000 emails per day to Gmail, you now must have:
Miss one requirement and Gmail can slow, filter, or block your emails.
Based on field testing across cold email communities, Google’s systems seem to be flagging patterns that used to slip through.
Nothing is fully confirmed yet, but senders are suspecting that Gmail is currently more sensitive to:
What we do know is that even legitimate senders with proper DNS setups are seeing Gmail get more aggressive than usual, likely tied to the seasonal spike in spam and promotions.
Importantly: Engaged, permission-based senders are seeing far less severe impact. Cold emailers and new domains are seeing the biggest hit.
Gmail also rolled out “Most Relevant” sorting in the Promotions tab.
Translation:
The Promotions tab now behaves more like TikTok: if the recipient doesn’t interact, Gmail deprioritizes you.
The rule is simple: Keep transactional emails purely transactional.
Otherwise Gmail may classify them as marketing and move them.
We spend A LOT of time in clients' email and follow top email gurus, such as Jay Schwedelson...and if you're not following him that's a must, must, must! So, here’s your Orange-Marketing-approved plan:
SPF, DKIM, DMARC. No exceptions. No guessing. No skipping.
Engagement signals now drive tab ranking and inbox placement. Dead contacts drag you down.
If Gmail is prioritizing relevance, you must:
Quality beats volume every time.
Gmail requires one-click unsubscribe for bulk senders.
But here’s the nuance: Some cold emailers have seen certain unsubscribe formats trigger spam filters. So if you’re doing cold email, review your implementation to avoid bulk-template patterns.
If you need to promote something, send a separate marketing email.
Some cold emailers, especially those using new domains, are temporarily excluding Gmail leads until filters relax.
This is not a recommendation for permission-based marketing lists. It only applies to cold campaigns that have completely dropped off.
Gmail’s November move wasn’t random. It pushed harder on:
The smartest response now is tightening your technical setup, improving engagement, refining segmentation, and understanding how inbox providers score your messages.
If this Gmail update made your email performance wobble, this guide will steady the ship.
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