Instead of showing marketing messages in simple chronological order (a "most recent" view with the newest at the top), the default will be to sort the list of emails by "most relevant," with algorithm-driven curation governing placement, based on the machine's estimation of relevance of the message for the recipient. Google says that this means highlighting offers from brands a recipient engages with the most, along with adding "nudges" for time-sensitive deals so Gmail users won't miss out on them.
This change could have a significant impact on how email marketing campaigns perform. For senders with strong engagement, there may be an upside. If subscribers already tend to open, click, or interact with your campaigns, Gmail will likely rank your messages higher in the Promotions category view. Those campaigns are likely to get better visibility, leading to more clicks and sales. On the other hand, senders who haven't mastered relevancy and who might have been skirting by based on the pure numbers game of blasting less engaging messaging out more broadly, they're likely to find their messages pushed further down the list. That could mean fewer eyeballs and weaker results.
The update reinforces the importance of the subscriber lifecycle and, I think, pressures senders to manage that lifecycle strategy properly over time. Gmail's sorting algorithm will almost certainly factor in whether recipients have shown interest in your past sends. A bloated list full of inactive addresses can only drag down your results. By contrast, if you regularly suppress unengaged subscribers, Gmail is more likely to reward you with prominent placement.
I wonder what this means for send time optimization (STO). Smart marketers have long depended on carefully chosen send times to maximize visibility. Gmail's new model means that your message may not surface when you want it to, but rather when Google's systems think it will be relevant to the user. This could be good news for limited-time promotions, since Gmail has said it will highlight expiring offers. It also means marketers lose a bit of control over the immediacy of their campaigns.
It is also worth considering how user behavior will change. Some Gmail users will undoubtedly switch their Promotions tab back to "most recent." And not all users even enable tabs/categories. But Google is betting that many will stick with the new default, especially if it feels useful. All of this suggesting that relevance wins over recency, when it comes to Gmail promo tab visibility.
Marketers should take this update as a reminder to double down on relevance, engagement, and list quality. As this rolls out over the coming weeks, the Promotions tab becomes a competitive arena where the most engaging email senders get the best placement.
TL;DR? Better will do better. Become a better sender, if you're not already.
On Thursday, September 11th, Google announced that Gmail will soon change how the Promotions tab works.
This change could have a significant impact on how email marketing campaigns perform. For senders with strong engagement, there may be an upside. If subscribers already tend to open, click, or interact with your campaigns, Gmail will likely rank your messages higher in the Promotions category view. Those campaigns are likely to get better visibility, leading to more clicks and sales. On the other hand, senders who haven't mastered relevancy and who might have been skirting by based on the pure numbers game of blasting less engaging messaging out more broadly, they're likely to find their messages pushed further down the list. That could mean fewer eyeballs and weaker results.
The update reinforces the importance of the subscriber lifecycle and, I think, pressures senders to manage that lifecycle strategy properly over time. Gmail's sorting algorithm will almost certainly factor in whether recipients have shown interest in your past sends. A bloated list full of inactive addresses can only drag down your results. By contrast, if you regularly suppress unengaged subscribers, Gmail is more likely to reward you with prominent placement.
I wonder what this means for send time optimization (STO). Smart marketers have long depended on carefully chosen send times to maximize visibility. Gmail's new model means that your message may not surface when you want it to, but rather when Google's systems think it will be relevant to the user. This could be good news for limited-time promotions, since Gmail has said it will highlight expiring offers. It also means marketers lose a bit of control over the immediacy of their campaigns.
It is also worth considering how user behavior will change. Some Gmail users will undoubtedly switch their Promotions tab back to "most recent." And not all users even enable tabs/categories. But Google is betting that many will stick with the new default, especially if it feels useful. All of this suggesting that relevance wins over recency, when it comes to Gmail promo tab visibility.
Marketers should take this update as a reminder to double down on relevance, engagement, and list quality. As this rolls out over the coming weeks, the Promotions tab becomes a competitive arena where the most engaging email senders get the best placement.
Read the Google announcement here: Introducing a new purchase tracking view and more relevant promotions in Gmail
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