How Carrier Lookup Boosts SMS Deliverability Rates

Summary

SMS is a very potent marketing channel, with open rates of around 98%. But this impressive stat only matters if your messages actually get delivered. 

Up to 30% of phone number leads are invalid. This means you could be sending a good chunk of the “perfect message” into a void and blowing up your marketing budget. 

The good news is that this is entirely preventable. CarrierLookup saves you the burden of wasted marketing credits by helping to ensure every message reaches real, active, mobile numbers.

Why SMS Deliverability Matters More Than Ever

Each failed SMS delivery carries multiple costs. The obvious one is financial, you’re paying for messages that never reach anyone. But the hidden costs hurt more.

Failed deliveries damage your sender reputation with carriers, triggering filtering systems that can throttle or block future campaigns. Your analytics become unreliable because bounce rates skew performance data, making it difficult to measure true campaign effectiveness.

Besides, carrier confirmation that a message was accepted for delivery doesn’t guarantee the end user received it. Understanding this distinction is critical for anyone serious about SMS marketing performance.

What Hurts SMS Deliverability?

Multiple factors conspire to prevent your messages from reaching their intended recipients. Here are some of them:

• Invalid or deactivated numbers represent the most straightforward problem. People change numbers, carriers reassign them, and leads go stale. About 38% of processed leads are invalid, with over 30% of these invalid entries stemming from phone number issues specifically.
• Sending to VoIP or landline numbers creates delivery failures when you’re running SMS campaigns. VoIP services often can’t reliably receive business text messages, and landlines simply aren’t equipped for SMS at all. Attempting to send texts to these number types wastes credits and damages your sender score.
• Carrier filtering has become increasingly sophisticated. Mobile network operators track complaint rates, opt-outs, delivery failures, engagement levels, and sending pattern consistency. They use machine learning to identify spam patterns in real-time.
• Poor sender reputation becomes a self-perpetuating problem. When your bounce rates climb, carriers notice. They begin treating your traffic as suspicious, which leads to more filtering, which creates more bounces. Breaking this cycle requires addressing the root cause which is data quality.

Almost all of these factors are easily avoidable when you perform carrier lookup before launching your SMS campaign. 

What Is Carrier Lookup and How Does It Work?

Carrier lookup is the process of carrying out real-time intelligence about phone numbers before you attempt to contact them. 

Platforms like CarrierLookup helps you perform number validation to confirm three critical information: carrier identification, line type(mobile, VoIP, or landline) and whether it’s currently active and reachable.

The process is straightforward. When you submit a phone number for verification, the system queries telecom databases and returns detailed information in seconds. Here’s what a typical response looks like:

{ "number": "15551234567",

  "carrier": "T-Mobile",

  "type": "mobile",

  "country": "US" }

This seemingly simple data set contains everything you need to make informed message routing decisions.

5 Ways Carrier Lookup Improves SMS Deliverability

The telecom intelligence CarrierLookup provides translates directly into measurable improvements across your SMS operations. Let’s show you how.

1. Filters Out Invalid and Non-Mobile Numbers

The most immediate benefit is removing numbers that can’t receive your messages. Invalid numbers, disconnected lines, and landlines get flagged before you waste a single credit.

2. Optimizes Carrier Routing

Different carriers have different requirements for message delivery. When you know which carrier services a number, you can route messages through the optimal gateway for that specific network. This minimizes message loss from routing errors and reduces latency in delivery.

3. Improves Sender Reputation

Sender reputation functions like a credit score in the SMS ecosystem. Fewer failed deliveries mean stronger trust signals with carriers, which means fewer messages flagged as spam going forward. This creates a cycle where good data hygiene leads to better reputation, which leads to better deliverability.

4. Increases Campaign Efficiency

When you target only valid, SMS-capable numbers, every dollar spent goes toward actual prospects. Phone validation can increase the efficiency of your overall campaign and engagement rate by up to 25%.

5. Supports Compliance and Opt-in Hygiene

Carrier lookup helps you stay compliant with TCPA regulations by identifying line types before contact. You avoid accidentally calling landlines with autodialers without consent, a violation that can cost $500 to $1,500 per call. You also reduce the risk of contacting reassigned numbers where the new owner never provided consent.

How to Integrate CarrierLookup for Better Deliverability

Implementation is straightforward, whether you’re running small campaigns or enterprise-level operations.

Step 1: Use CarrierLookup API to Validate Numbers Pre-send

Before any campaign launches, verify your contact list. For real-time verification during sign-up forms or lead capture, the CarrierLookupAPI integrates seamlessly into your existing workflows.

Step 2: Integrate with Twilio / Plivo / CRM Workflows

CarrierLookup works alongside the tools you already use. Whether you’re routing messages through Twilio, Plivo, or another SMS gateway, carrier data can inform routing decisions in real-time. For CRM systems like Salesforce or HubSpot, API connections ensure every new contact gets verified automatically.

Step 3: Use Automation Tools for Ongoing Verification

Platforms like Zapier and n8n make it easy to create automated workflows. Set up triggers so that every time a new contact enters your system, CarrierLookup verification runs automatically. 

Step 4: Monitor Results, Track Delivery Reports Before and After Implementation

Establish baseline metrics before implementing carrier lookup, then track improvements in delivery rates, bounce rates, and sender reputation scores. Using an SMS platform like DialMyCalls helps you properly track these metrics without stress.

Best Practices for Sustained SMS Deliverability

Carrier lookup is powerful, but it works best as part of a comprehensive data hygiene strategy. Here are top tips to help you maintain high deliverability across your SMS campaigns:

• Validate new leads immediately with real-time API calls
  Don’t wait until campaign time to discover your list is filled with invalid numbers. Verify contacts as they enter your system, whether through web forms, purchases, or other touchpoints.
• Recheck inactive lists every few months.
  Phone numbers change status over time. Contacts who were valid six months ago may have disconnected or ported their numbers. According to federal guidelines, numbers can be reassigned as quickly as 45 days after being returned. Regular re-verification catches these changes before they impact campaigns.
• Avoid sending to recently ported or VoIP lines.
  Ported numbers sometimes experience temporary message routing issues during the transition period. VoIP services vary widely in their ability to receive business SMS. When carrier lookup flags these scenarios, consider alternative contact methods or wait until porting is complete.
• Maintain opt-in and unsubscribe hygiene.
  Carrier filtering systems prioritize customer satisfaction. Messages without clear opt-out instructions get flagged as high risk. Make unsubscribing easy, honor opt-outs immediately, and keep detailed consent records.
• Keep sender ID consistent and compliant.
  Frequent changes to sender IDs confuse recipients and trigger carrier filters. If you must change sender IDs, notify your list in advance. Consistency builds trust with both recipients and carriers.

The Bottom Line

SMS deliverability heavily depends on having the right data. CarrierLookup gives businesses the intelligence layer they need to deliver more messages, waste fewer resources, and protect their sender reputation.

At just 1¢ per lookup with credits that never expire, the investment pays for itself.

The businesses winning at SMS aren’t necessarily those with bigger budgets or fancier creative. They’re the ones who understand that delivery is a data problem, and data problems have data solutions. 

Verify before you send and watch your deliverability metrics climb. Try CarrierLookup today!

---

Frequently Asked Questions

---

What causes low SMS deliverability rates?

Low deliverability is typically the product of invalid or disconnected numbers, sending to VoIP or landline numbers that can’t receive SMS, and carrier filtering due to poor sender reputation. Each failed delivery further damages sender reputation, creating a negative feedback loop.

---

How does CarrierLookup improve deliverability?

CarrierLookup verifies phone numbers before messages are sent, identifying the carrier, line type (mobile, landline, or VoIP), and whether the number is active. This allows you to filter out undeliverable numbers and ensure you’re only targeting SMS-capable mobile devices. The result is fewer bounces, better sender reputation, and higher delivery rates.

---

Can CarrierLookup integrate with Twilio or Plivo?

Yes. CarrierLookup’s API integrates seamlessly with SMS gateways like Twilio and Plivo, as well as CRM platforms and marketing automation tools. You can use automation platforms like Zapier or n8n to create workflows that verify numbers automatically as they enter your system, then route them appropriately based on carrier and line type data.

---

Is CarrierLookup cost-effective for bulk verification?

At just 1 cent per lookup, CarrierLookup is one of the most affordable verification solutions available. Credits never expire, so you can purchase them in bulk and use them at your own pace. Given that failed SMS sends waste money and damage sender reputation, the ROI is typically immediate.

---

Does CarrierLookup work internationally?

Unfortunately, CarrierLookup is only available in the US for now. The platform supports all major US carriers and is able to deliver reliable carrier information in seconds.

---