Reference
What is Anti-spam policy?
An anti-spam policy states how a business handles email addresses and whether it sends unsolicited messages. It matters legally under the UK PECR, the EU ePrivacy rules and CAN-SPAM, and commercially because unsolicited SEO outreach has poisoned the category.
Also called: CAN-SPAM · PECR
What the rules require
- Consent for marketing email to individuals in the UK and EU, with narrow exemptions for existing customers
- A working unsubscribe route in every marketing message
- Accurate sender information and subject lines
- Records showing when and how consent was obtained
The commercial argument
Small businesses receive a constant stream of unsolicited "I noticed your site has SEO issues" emails. Stating publicly that you do not send them is a differentiator, and it costs nothing because the practice is worthless anyway.
Spoofing, which is a different problem
Anyone can forge your domain in the From field without touching your systems. SPF, DKIM and a DMARC policy set to quarantine or reject are what actually prevent it, and most small businesses leave DMARC at none.
Where this is covered in depth
A definition can only go so far. The 35 types of SEO, explained without the padding covers this properly — 6 minutes, free, no email required.
Who wrote this
Anas Bin Masud builds e-commerce sites and does technical SEO for businesses in the UK, Canada and Pakistan. These definitions come from client work rather than from a content brief — where an entry describes a mistake, it is usually one found on a real site. More about how I work.