Did you know around 20 percent of emails never make it to their destination? If email is one of your marketing strategies, you should pay attention to that statistic.

A failure to deliver may not be limited to your marketing emails either. Notifications from website contact forms or an app could also get stuck in email limbo.

The solution is actually very simple. You need an SMTP relay service.

What is SMTP Service?

SMTP stands for “simple mail transfer protocol,” and it’s been around since the early 1980s. SMTP allows email to pass from the sender, through your email server, and on to the recipient.

You could choose to run your own mail server, but this can cause problems. One of the most common ones is that your emails may be more likely to be labeled as spam.

This is especially true for businesses sending high volumes of email. An app that sends automated notifications is a good example. Another example is a marketing newsletter sent to hundreds or thousands of inboxes.

Even notifications from website contact forms or ecommerce stores can get stuck in spam folders without SMTP.

The Advantages of SMTP Relay Service

The advantages of using a third-party email service are clear. The SMTP relay service provider can guarantee delivery of your emails.

The provider uses a third-party SMTP server. This improves access to inboxes managed by different Internet service providers. ISPs often limit the access of email servers to cut down on spam on their networks.

If you’re using a private mail server, it’s more likely an ISP will label your messages as spam. This is especially true if you send emails to hundreds or thousands of people. Small sending limits could prevent you from reaching your audience.

The SMTP relay service provider works closely with ISPs and webmail providers. They ensure mail from their servers will land in inboxes. That’s how they can guarantee delivery of your emails.

These providers also use infrastructure that can handle large volumes of email.

Use SMTP to Deliver Contact Forms

As you can see, an SMTP relay service is key to making sure your emails land in the right place. This is especially true for the contact forms on your website.

Without SMTP enabled, contact form emails often miss their mark. WordPress and other platforms usually have a mail function, but it isn’t always reliable. WordPress in particular uses PHP, which may be blocked by ISPs and webmail providers.

The result? Your emails never make it to their destination. SMTP can solves this problem.

Make Sure SMTP is Configured Correctly

Many people still encounter delivery failure after they add SMTP to their contact forms. One of the most common problems is incorrect configuration of SMTP servers.

It’s often easy to fix the configuration of your SMTP servers, but it does require a little bit of know-how. You may need to change the port or host settings. Encryption method is also important.

Your website host should be able to help you troubleshoot.

Get Email Where it’s Going

Whether you’re sending contact form notifications or want to let people know about a sale, you need SMTP relay services.

Looking for more ways to improve your website and your customer experience? Take a look around the blog for more informative articles.