Spam word checker

Highlights the words in your cold email that trip spam filters, by how risky they are, with a plainer word for each.

SubjectQuick question about Northwind's outbound

102 words, 6 risky words, sample email

First line starting Subject: is the subject. Merge fields like {{firstName}} are fine.

Sample email, checkedKen's spam rules v2026-10-17.1Runs in your browser, nothing is sent

6risky words

Over budget

Budget: 2 units. A never word spends it all.

2 never2 high2 medium102 words

2 never-tier words are in the email. Remove them before you send. 4 structure checks need a look: links, URL shorteners, exclamation marks, money and percentage promises.

Spam budget

Never word: all spent

2 checks failing2 to review3 passed

Where the risky words are

Numbers in the text match the notes. Each note has a plainer word.

Your email

8 marks

SubjectQuick question about Northwind's outbound

Hi Jane,

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Tom and I'm the founder of Outbound Labs, a leading AI-powered platform that helps B2B companies like Northwind scale their outbound engine 10x with cutting-edge automation.

We've helped over 500 companies increase their pipeline by 300% in just 90 days. Book a free demo today and get a risk-free 30-day trial - guaranteed results or your money back!

Would you be open to a quick 15-minute call this week? Check out our case study here: https://bit.ly/3xYz

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Best regards,
Tom

NeverHighMedium or formattingChecked in your browser. Nothing is sent.

1“300%” Formatting

"300%" reads as a percentage promise. Filters and readers both distrust it. One real number with its source: "cut bounce rate from 6% to 2% at Acme".

2“free” Neverall

Zero occurrences, ever. Hard reject in Ken's review. Safer: "on us", "You don't need to pay anything" or "no invoice on my side"

3“get” Medium-1

Max 1 or 2 per email in total, never two from the same cluster in one sentence. Safer: Swap for a plainer word, or cut the phrase.

4“risk-free” Neverall

Zero occurrences, ever. Hard reject in Ken's review. Safer: "you can walk away after the pilot" or "no pressure either way"

5“trial” Medium-1

Max 1 or 2 per email in total, never two from the same cluster in one sentence. Safer: Name the thing: "a pilot", "the list", "the teardown"

6“guaranteed” High-2

Aim for zero. One HIGH word spends the email's whole spam budget. Safer: Show it: "if we don't get you X, I'll [specific consequence]"

7“money back” High-2

Aim for zero. One HIGH word spends the email's whole spam budget. Safer: State the real term once: "cancel any month"

8“!” Formatting

More than one exclamation mark per email pushes it toward the promotions tab. Keep one at most, or none.

Structure checks

Links, shorteners, fake replies and formatting, from the rules in Ken's own linter.

Links

1 link. A first cold email lands best with none: the reply is the call to action.

URL shorteners

URL shortener host 'bit.ly' is not allowed (opaque destination). Use a full HTTPS destination.

Exclamation marks

Keep one exclamation mark at most, and never !!! or ???.

Money and percentage promises

"300%" reads as a percentage promise. Filters and readers both distrust it.

3 passed

Nothing to do here.

Link safetyFake Re: or Fwd:ALL CAPS

ShowHide

Link safety

Every link is HTTPS, direct, and its text matches where it goes.

Fake Re: or Fwd:

The subject doesn't pretend to be a reply or a forward.

ALL CAPS

No shouting.

Cold email grader

Then

Subject line tester

Email me this report

The verdict, every flagged word with a safer one, and the structure checks. Your email text isn't included.

Every flag with its alternativeStructure checksYour email is never stored

Ken flags spam words in every email before it sends.

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What the spam word checker flags

Paste a subject and body. The checker highlights every risky word and phrase by tier and counts them against a spam budget for the email:

Never. Words with no safe use in cold email: phishing language like "verify your account" and "action required", and scam phrases like "no strings attached" and "risk-free".
High. Money, urgency and hype words such as "discount", "act now", "guaranteed" and "click here". One of these spends the whole budget.
Medium. Everyday sales words such as "offer", "price", "trial" and "ROI". One per email is fine. Two use up the budget, and more starts to read like a pitch.

It also runs structure checks: links in a first email, URL shorteners, link text that hides where a link goes, a fake "Re:" or "Fwd:" in the subject, words in ALL CAPS, stacked exclamation marks, and money or percentage promises.

How to read the spam budget

Filters score clusters, not single words. One medium word in a normal sentence is fine. Three deal words in one sentence next to a dollar sign in the subject is a promotion. The budget turns that into numbers you can check:

Never words: zero, always.
High words: aim for zero. One uses the whole budget.
Medium words: one per email. Two use up the budget.
Subject line: no words from any tier, and no $, % or emoji.

Each highlight has a number that matches a note with the safer alternative. Fix the text, check it again, and the meter shows how much of the budget is left.

How to replace spam words without sounding stiff

Swap the claim for the specific thing behind it:

"No obligation" becomes "if it isn't a fit, say so and I'll stop".
"Guaranteed" becomes the guarantee itself: what you do if it doesn't work.
"Save money" becomes the cut you expect, in their numbers.
"Act now" becomes the real reason the timing matters, or nothing.
"Click here" becomes link text that says where the link goes.

Concrete numbers are fine in the body. One specific figure reads as proof. A stack of dollar signs and percentages reads as an ad.

Why content still matters for cold email

Gmail and Outlook decide mostly on reputation: whether your domain passes SPF, DKIM and DMARC, how recipients treated your past mail, and how often they report it. Google asks every sender to keep the spam rate in Postmaster Tools below 0.1% and never reach 0.3%. Words come after all of that.

Content matters more inside companies. Many B2B buyers sit behind gateways such as Proofpoint, Mimecast and Barracuda, which still score message text with SpamAssassin-style rules. Clean copy won't save a bad domain, but spammy copy can sink a good one at exactly the companies you sell to.

This checker runs the rules from Ken's own copy linter. It doesn't predict whether Gmail will deliver a given message. No word list can.

Questions

What words trigger spam filters in cold email?

The ones that hurt most are phishing language ("verify your account", "suspicious activity"), scam phrases ("risk-free", "no strings attached", "make money fast") and urgency or hype ("act now", "limited time", "guaranteed", "click here"). Filters react to clusters of these more than to a single word. Paste your email above to see each one highlighted with its tier and a safer alternative.

Is "free" a spam word?

On its own in a normal sentence, "free" rarely decides where an email lands. It shows up in so many spam phrases ("free gift", "free sample", "free quote") that filters and readers both treat it with suspicion, so this checker puts it in the never tier. Say what you mean instead: "on us", "no invoice", or a trial with an end date.

Does Gmail use a list of spam words?

Google doesn't publish one, and Gmail's filtering leans mostly on sender signals: authentication, domain and IP reputation, and how recipients react to your mail. Word rules matter more at corporate email gateways, which still score content. That's why this tool shows rules and a budget instead of claiming to predict Gmail.

How many links can I put in a cold email?

None in a first email if you can help it: one link gets a warning here and two or more fail. Later emails can carry two. Every link is a domain that filters check against blocklists, and a first email full of links looks like a newsletter. Never use a URL shortener such as bit.ly, because shortened links share reputation with everyone else who used the service. A first email with no link at all is fine. The reply is the call to action.

Will removing spam words get my email into the inbox?

It removes one risk, not all of them. If your domain fails SPF, DKIM or DMARC, sits on a blocklist, or sends too much too fast from new inboxes, clean copy won't save it. Run a domain health check first, then use this checker so content isn't what tips a good sender into spam.