In this guide, we will discuss how to check if an email address is valid. Understanding validating emails is crucial in the marketing business. It will help you differentiate between real and fake email addresses.
Usually, to market any product, a company has to send marketing emails to its target customers. For that, the marketing agency adds numerous email addresses to the businessโs mailing list.
The agency may add emails with syntax errors to the mailing list, which will make these email addresses invalid. Secondly, the mailing list may also contain spam email addresses.
It is important to have some mechanism to weed out invalid and spam email addresses. That will ensure that business emails reach the target audience without failure.
For that, you would need to know the methods for email validation. Apart from some free email ID verification methods, paid tools are available that can validate real email addresses.
What is the Problem with Invalid Email Addresses?
Correct email addresses on the mailing list have a high deliverability rate. The scope of spam is very small. An invalid email address will cause the email to bounce back.
Multiple instances of sending mail to the wrong email address will lead to email services marking your messages as spam, reducing your intended audience.
Best Ways to Check if an Email Address is Valid
Here are the different methods to check for valid email addresses.
1. Send an Email to the Address
Email an email to an email address to determine whether it is valid. Email sent to an invalid email address will bounce back.
Type a mail body โHi, this is a test email to check if this address is valid. Acknowledge If you receive this emailโ. Then, send it to an email address.
If the email gets bounced, you will receive a notification from your email service.
- Message not Delivered: There was a problem sending your message to [email protected]. Please see the technical details below or resend the email in a few minutes.
- Address not Found: Your message wasnโt delivered to [email protected] because the address couldnโt be found or you could not receive mail.
2. Perform an IP Address Lookup
IP address lookup determines the location of an IP address. Each email ID that sends or receives emails is associated with an IP address. In the messageโs source, under the โreceived fromโ tab, you can find the IP address.
You can copy the IP address and use the What is My IP Address tool to find out its location. If the IP address is based in a region different from what the sender claims, it could be a fake or spam email.
Looking up an IP address can be a time-consuming process for cross-checking several emails. Also, it doesnโt provide any clue regarding the addressโs deliverability.
3. Search for Email Address in Google
You can search for an email address and know if it is real by searching for it in Google. Search engines frequently crawl the internet and index the contents. That includes email addresses as well.
Google also crawls genuine email addresses, and you can search for them. Simply input the email address into the search bar of Google. A fake email address cannot be retrieved, but a genuine one will appear in the search result.
4. Password Recovery Method
The account recovery process on email service providers has a mechanism for checking email addresses. If you have ever used the Gmail account recovery, you must have noticed one thing. If you enter the wrong email address(typo), the system will detect it as invalid.
Upon receiving emails from Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook, you can visit the respective email service providerโs account recovery page. Enter an email address, and you will know if it is fake or genuine. It is a time-consuming process, though.
Google | https://www.google.com/accounts/recovery
Microsoft | https://account.live.com/password/reset
Yahoo | https://edit.yahoo.com/forgot
5. Using an Email Verifier
There are several tools that you can use to verify the legitimacy of an email address. These apps are called email verifiers.
Usually, email verifiers offer a limited number of free email address checking. Then, you may have to buy their premium services to validate more emails.
Some of the Free Email Verifier
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
What is the Meaning of a Valid Email?
A valid email has the correct syntax and connection with an existing domain.
How to Check if an Email Address Is Valid?
Email the address to see if the message gets delivered or bounces back.
Why My Email is Not Valid?
The email is invalid because the address is in an incorrect format or is not on the email serviceโs server.
How to Validate Email Address for Free?
Use an email validation service to validate email IDs. Various tools on the internet offer such services to verify email addresses.
What Happens if You Send an Email to an Invalid Address?
Wrapping Up
I hope you now know how to check if an email address is valid. You can reach your target audience and enhance your business with valid email addresses.