When it comes to email validation, some major providers intentionally obscure their SMTP responses, making it difficult to determine whether a mailbox is truly valid. This often results in vague results such as “unknown” or “accept-all”.
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve validation for such domains, we’re excited to introduce BounceCheck, the newest enhancement to the Global Email Web Service. With this request option, you’ll gain more reliable validation results and greater confidence in your deliverability.
Utilizing the BounceCheck option can improve the quality of your mailing lists by:
When BounceCheck is enabled, and a real-time validation is performed, the API will conditionally send an additional deliverability probe to the mailbox. This probe is monitored for bounce signals, helping to get definitive answers even when the standard SMTP responses are ambiguous.
This feature comes standard with a Global Email subscription. To enable it, simply set the request option, BounceCheck:ON (for documentation on how to set request options, see here).
There are no new result codes or response elements; BounceCheck will simply enhance the validation process.
The benefits of this feature are most apparent when validating:
The BounceCheck method may increase response latency. A minimum TimeToWait value of 25 seconds is enforced when this method gets triggered. This means that even if a lower value is set in the request, the validation may still take up to 25 seconds. That said, most responses are still within milliseconds.
Using multi-threading, batching, and/or webhooks can help to avoid blocking of other operations in the event of a latency spike. If latency is a major concern for your use-case, then consider reserving the BounceCheck option for only specific domains.
Example request (GET)
https://globalemail.melissadata.net/v4/WEB/GlobalEmail/doGlobalEmail?id=&email=test@yahoo.com&opt=VerifyMailbox:Premium,BounceCheck:ON
Example request (POST)
https://globalemail.melissadata.net/v4/WEB/GlobalEmail/doGlobalEmail
{
″CustomerID″: ″″
″Options″: ″VerifyMailbox:Premium,BounceCheck:ON″
″Records″: [
{ ″Email″: ″test@yahoo.com″ },
{ ″Email″: ″test2@aol.com″ }
]
}
Does BounceCheck apply to every domain?
No; for now, BounceCheck primarily works for Yahoo-like providers where standard SMTP checks return non-committal responses. Global Email will decide automatically whether the BounceCheck method can be used for a given domain or MX server.
Does BounceCheck send an email?
BounceCheck confirms deliverability by detecting bounce outcomes during a controlled, real-time check. No marketing content is sent, and only deliverability signals are analyzed.
Will this slow down my API calls?
It can, in cases where a live check is performed. If low latency is critical, leverage batching and multi-threading, or reserve BounceCheck for specific domains.
How do results change?
With BounceCheck, we still return the same types of result codes, but you will generally observe a shift from “Unknown” or “Accept-All” to more definitive “Valid” or “Invalid” statuses.
How are results billed?
There is no additional cost to use BounceCheck if you are subscribed to Global Email.
Thank you for your attention to this update. We encourage you to start using BounceCheck to unlock clearer deliverability results and reduce costly bounces in your campaigns!
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tech Support at tech@melissa.com or call 1 (800) 800-6245 x4.