Spam emails can be a frustrating and time-consuming problem to deal with, both for individuals and for businesses. Whether you’re sending emails for personal or professional reasons, you want to make sure that your messages are actually getting through to their intended recipients, rather than getting flagged as spam and sent straight to the junk folder.
To help you avoid common spam triggers and improve your email deliverability, we’ve put together an exhaustive list of words and phrases that are frequently associated with spam. This list includes over 200 terms, categorized by spam rating as high, medium, or low, depending on how likely they are to trigger spam filters.
Some of the high-rated words and phrases on this list, such as “Viagra” and “weight loss,” are pretty obviously associated with spam emails. Others, like “credit card” and “mortgage,” may be more innocuous but can still trigger spam filters if used inappropriately. By being aware of these potential triggers and avoiding them in your emails, you can improve your chances of getting your messages seen by their intended recipients.
Here we are:
Word or Phrase | Spam Rating |
100% free | Medium |
50% off | Medium |
Accept credit cards | Medium |
Act now | High |
Act today | High |
Act immediately | High |
Act fast | High |
Additional income | Medium |
Affordable | Low |
Amazing | High |
Apply now | Medium |
Avoid bankruptcy | Medium |
Be amazed | High |
Be your own boss | High |
Best price | Medium |
Best rate | Medium |
Big bucks | High |
Big money | High |
Bill 1618 notice | High |
Billionaire | High |
Bonus | Medium |
Bulk email | High |
Buy direct | Low |
Buy now | Medium |
Buying judgments | High |
Cable converter | Medium |
Cancel at any time | Medium |
Cards accepted | Low |
Cash | High |
Cash bonus | High |
Cashcashcash | High |
Casino | High |
Cease | High |
Cheap | Medium |
Check or money order | Medium |
Claims | High |
Clearance | Medium |
Collect | High |
Compare | Low |
Compete | High |
Congratulations | High |
Consolidate | Medium |
Copy DVDs | High |
Copy Blu-ray | High |
Credit | High |
Credit bureaus | High |
Cures | High |
Deal | Medium |
Dear friend | High |
Debt | High |
Discount | Medium |
Direct email | High |
Direct marketing | High |
Direct mail | High |
Direct response | High |
Diploma | High |
Double your | High |
Double your cash | High |
Double your income | High |
Earn | High |
Earn extra cash | High |
Earn money | High |
Easy terms | Medium |
Eliminate debt | High |
Email marketing | High |
Expect to earn | High |
Extra cash | High |
Extra income | High |
Fantastic | High |
Fast cash | High |
Fast Viagra | High |
Financial freedom | High |
Financially independent | High |
For free | Medium |
For instant | Medium |
Form | High |
Free access | Medium |
Free cell phone | High |
Free consultation | Medium |
Free DVD | Medium |
Free grant money | High |
Free hosting | Medium |
Free installation | Medium |
Free investment | High |
Free membership | Medium |
Free money | High |
Free offer | Medium |
Free preview | Medium |
Free priority mail | Medium |
Free trial | Medium |
Free website | Medium |
Full refund | Medium |
Get out of debt | High |
Get paid | High |
Get started now | Medium |
Gift | Medium |
Great offer | High |
Guarantee | Medium |
Hello | Low |
Hidden | High |
Home based | Medium |
Home employment | High |
Human growth hormone | High |
If only | High |
In accordance with laws | Medium |
Income | High |
Increase sales | High |
Increase traffic | Medium |
Incredible | High |
Insurance | Medium |
Internet marketing | High |
Investment | High |
Investment advice | High |
Investment decision | High |
It’s effective | High |
Join millions | High |
Junk | High |
Limited time | Medium |
Limited time offer | High |
Loans | High |
Lose weight | High |
Lowest price | Medium |
Luxury | High |
Mail in order form | Medium |
Marketing solutions | High |
Mass email | High |
Meet singles | High |
Member | Medium |
Message contains | High |
Million | High |
Miracle | High |
MLM | High |
Money back | Medium |
Money making | High |
Month trial offer | Medium |
More internet traffic | High |
Mortgage rates | Medium |
Multi level marketing | High |
Name brand | Low |
New customers | High |
New domain extensions | Medium |
Nigerian | High |
No age restrictions | Medium |
No catch | Medium |
No cost | Medium |
No credit check | High |
No fees | Medium |
No gimmick | Medium |
No hidden costs | Low |
No hidden fees | Low |
No investment | Medium |
No obligation | Medium |
Not spam | Low |
Obligation | Medium |
Offer | Medium |
Offers | High |
One time | Medium |
Online biz opportunity | High |
Online degree | High |
Online marketing | High |
Online pharmacy | High |
Only | Medium |
Opportunity | High |
Opt in | Low |
Order | Medium |
Orders shipped by priority mail | Medium |
Outstanding | High |
Pennies a day | Medium |
Percent off | Medium |
Performance | High |
Pharmaceuticals | High |
Pharmacy | High |
Please read | Medium |
Potential earnings | High |
Pre-approved | Medium |
Print out and fax | Medium |
Priority mail | Medium |
Prize | High |
Profits | High |
Promise | High |
Pure profit | High |
Quote | Medium |
Rates | Medium |
Refinance | High |
Refinance home mortgage | High |
Remove | High |
Removes | High |
Reverses | High |
Risk-free | Medium |
Round the world | High |
S 3x | High |
Satisfaction | Medium |
Save big | Medium |
Save up to | Medium |
Score | Medium |
Search engine listings | High |
Search engines | High |
Section 301 | High |
See for yourself | Medium |
Sent in compliance | Low |
Serious | Medium |
Shopping spree | High |
Sign up | Medium |
Social security | High |
Solution | Medium |
Spam | High |
Special promotion | Medium |
Stop | Medium |
Strong buy | Medium |
Subject to credit | High |
Subscribe | Low |
Success | Medium |
Supplies limited | Medium |
Take action now | High |
Talk to | Medium |
Teen | High |
Terms and conditions | Medium |
The best rates | Medium |
The following form | Medium |
They keep your money | High |
This isn’t a scam | High |
This isn’t junk | Low |
This isn’t spam | Low |
Thousands | High |
Time limited | Medium |
Trial | Medium |
Undisclosed | High |
University diploma | High |
Unsecured credit | High |
Unsecured debt | High |
Unlimited time offer | High |
Unsecured loan | High |
Unsolicited | High |
Urgent | High |
US dollars | High |
Valium | High |
Viagra | High |
Vicodin | High |
Visit our website | Medium |
Wants credit card | High |
Warranty | Medium |
We hate spam | Low |
Web traffic | High |
Weight | High |
Weight loss | High |
What are you waiting for? | High |
While supplies last | Medium |
Who really wins? | High |
Why pay more? | Medium |
Will not believe your eyes | High |
Winner | High |
Winning | High |
Work from home | High |
Xanax | High |
You are a winner! | High |
You have been selected | High |
Your income | High |
Your status | High |
Valuable | Medium |
Congratulation | High |
Of course, it’s important to keep in mind that this list is not necessarily the entire list and that individual email providers may have their own unique spam filters and criteria. However, by avoiding the most common spam triggers and using best practices like avoiding all-caps and excessive punctuation, you can increase the chances of your emails landing in the inbox and getting the attention they deserve.