Even if you never send spam, your web site could be on the Spam Black List, especially if you are on a shared IP host. Here's how to check, and what to do if you're on the list.

The DNS Spam BlackList

In an attempt to identify spammers and block their ability to send email and get search engine rankings, many web email servers, internet providers and search engines refer to the DNS Spam Blacklist to check to see if the IP address of a site is on the list. If it is, email from the site can be blocked or deleted, and search engines may choose not to rank the site.

For the most part, this is good news. However, it is possible that even if you have never sent spam, your site could be on the Spam Black List.

As reported in a recent New York Times article, many legitimate web sites can be forced out of business if they are on shared IP hosting system and another site on that same IP number is involved in spam or other questionable activities.

With news laws being enacted making it a felony to send spam, more and more internet service providers are using the DNS Spam Black List to delete mail coming from sites on the list.

Your site may already be on the Spam Black List

As mentioned above, even if you have never sent spam, it is possible that your web site could be on the DNS Spam Black List. This could happen if:

• You are on a shared IP hosting system where hundreds of domains share the same unique IP address. All it takes is for one of those sites to be labeled as a spammer, and the IP address can be added to the blacklist. That would mean all the sites sharing the same IP address would be labeled as spammers (the list works by IP address, not domain name).
  
  
• Your web site is hosted by a company that is tolerant of spammers - in many cases, all IP addresses assigned to a specific host will be added to the Spam Black List.
  
  
• The IP address of your new web site previously belonged to a spammer - web hosts recycle IP addresses. If your web host assigns you an IP address that was previously used by a spammer, your new site could already be on the Spam Black List.

Whatever the cause, if you are on the Spam Black List, it could cause you pretty severe problems including loss of ability to send email, search engine de-listing, and loss of web hosting.

How to check the DNS Spam Black List

Checking to see if your web site or web host is on any of the 30+ Spam Black Lists is very easy. Visit http://openrbl.org/ and enter the domain name to be checked.

In the screen capture below, I searched for bmyers.com. You can see that the results show my site doesn't show up on any spam list (30 negatives, 0 positives.)

If you test your own domain name it and shows a positive on any of the blacklists, the first thing you want to do is check to see if you are on a shared IP hosting system. To do this, look in the first line of text on the Spam Lookup for the string of numbers that follows the word 'lookup'. Those numbers will be the IP address assigned to your site (my IP address is 64.78.5.97).

Copy your IP address and enter it into your browser address line (no http, no www), and press enter. The browser should display your own site.

If it doesn't, it means you are on a shared IP hosting system, and are 'guilty by association' with known spammers. The only way to resolve this is to move your site to a hosting plan where you are given a unique IP address.

Another thing to do if you show any positives is to click the link for each positive. Doing so will show you a little background information on the Spam Black List your site is on.

Whatever the reason, you will want to move your web site to an IP address not on the DNS Spam Black List.

Check Often

Even if you are not currently on any spam lists, it is good idea to check at least once a month if your site has been added - this is especially true if you are on a shared IP address hosting system.

If your site does start to appear on these lists, it can quickly cause you problems, as more and more corporations, internet mail routers, internet service providers, search engines, and spam filters begin to use these lists to block or delete or de-list such sites from their services.

Check today (and feel free to share your results in our discussion forum.)