Catchall Email Domains: How to Verify and Reach Them Safely

Catchall email domains accept all email addresses - but are they actually deliverable? Understanding how to verify and safely reach catchall emails is critical for maintaining sender reputation while maximizing your outreach effectiveness. This technical guide explains catchall detection, verification techniques, and best practices.

What Are Catchall Email Domains?

A catchall domain is configured to accept emails sent to any address at that domain, even if the specific mailbox doesn't exist. For example, if company.com has catchall enabled:

• john@company.com - May exist
• randomtext123@company.com - Also accepted
• fakename@company.com - Still accepted

The mail server responds "250 OK" to all addresses, making it impossible to verify if specific mailboxes actually exist using standard verification methods.

Why Catchall Domains Matter for B2B Sales

Approximately 15-20% of business domains use catchall configurations. Ignoring catchall emails means missing potential leads, but blindly sending to unverified catchall addresses risks:

• High bounce rates: If the mailbox doesn't exist, emails bounce
• Spam complaints: Sending to random addresses triggers filters
• Damaged reputation: ISPs track bounce and complaint rates
• Wasted credits: Paying for invalid addresses

How Standard Email Verification Handles Catchalls

Most basic email verifiers mark catchall emails as "unknown" or "accept-all" because they can't determine deliverability:

Advanced Catchall Verification Techniques

1. Email Pattern Analysis

Analyze the company's known valid email patterns to predict likely formats:

• firstname@company.com
• firstname.lastname@company.com
• firstinitiallastname@company.com

Match your target contact against discovered patterns to increase confidence.

2. Common Name Validation

Verify that the name portion makes sense:

• Valid: john.smith@company.com (real name)
• Invalid: xyz123@company.com (random string)

3. LinkedIn Cross-Reference

Cross-reference the email against LinkedIn profiles to confirm the person works at the company.

4. Historical Deliverability Data

Platforms like Puzzly maintain historical deliverability data for catchall domains and email patterns, providing confidence scores based on past performance.

How to Safely Use Catchall Emails in Campaigns

Strategy 1: Segment Catchall Emails

Create separate lists for verified vs catchall emails:

• Verified emails: Send with normal volume
• High-confidence catchalls: Send in smaller batches, monitor bounces
• Low-confidence catchalls: Consider manual research or skip

Strategy 2: Throttle Catchall Outreach

Limit catchall emails to 10-15% of your daily send volume to minimize bounce impact.

Strategy 3: Use Separate Sending Domains

For large catchall lists, consider using a separate subdomain to isolate reputation risk from your primary domain.

Strategy 4: Monitor Bounce Rates Closely

If catchall emails bounce above 5%, pause the segment and investigate. Healthy catchall outreach should maintain 3-5% bounce rates.

Puzzly's Triple Verification for Catchalls

Puzzly's advanced verification system specifically addresses catchall challenges:

• Layer 1: Detects catchall domains automatically
• Layer 2: Applies pattern matching and name validation
• Layer 3: Scores confidence based on historical deliverability

Result: Catchall emails receive confidence scores (High, Medium, Low) so you can make informed decisions about which to include in campaigns.

When to Skip Catchall Emails

Sometimes it's better to avoid catchall addresses entirely:

• Cold campaigns from new domains: Build reputation with verified emails first
• High-value accounts: Do manual research to find confirmed emails
• Low confidence scores: If pattern matching shows weak correlation
• Past poor performance: If you've seen high bounces from that domain before

Best Practices Checklist

• ✓ Use triple verification to detect and score catchall emails
• ✓ Segment catchalls separately from verified emails
• ✓ Send catchalls in smaller batches with close monitoring
• ✓ Limit catchalls to 10-15% of daily send volume
• ✓ Focus on high-confidence catchalls only
• ✓ Track bounce rates by domain and pattern
• ✓ Skip low-confidence catchalls for critical campaigns

Catchall confidence scores included: Puzzly's triple verification automatically detects catchall domains and provides deliverability confidence scores for safer outreach.