By: Email Paramedic
If you’ve ever sent an email and wondered if it got lost in cyberspace…
And never got that crucial reply from a prospective client…
Or your cold email campaign flopped…
Maybe it’s not what you said. Perhaps the email just landed in spam?
Email deliverability has become increasingly challenging since February 2024 when Google announced they would begin to block unauthenticated emails.
Thousands of business owners around the world panicked, thinking they would need to hire an expensive email deliverability consultant to fix the problem for them (or else be blocked by Gmail).
Fear not, let’s go over exactly what that means for you and your business.
So, what is email authentication? And how do you authenticate your emails to avoid the spam folder (and not get blocked by Google)?
Email authentication is a security protocol that requires you to add 3 important DNS records to prove you own your domain:
DKIM, SPF, and DMARC.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a DNS record obtained from each platform you use to send emails from your domain. Simply copy & paste the record from each platform into your DNS settings.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that lists each platform you use to send emails from your domain. It’s similar to DKIM, but all platforms are combined into the same record.
DMARC (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) provides domain security by allowing you to decide what happens if any emails from your domain fail DKIM or SPF. This could mean that your emails are being hacked or spoofed, and you can choose to block these specific emails.
Google advises all email senders to implement these policies immediately in 2024 to prevent your emails from going to spam or being blocked altogether. Google began to partially block unauthenticated emails starting in February, and claims that full email blocks will begin in June 2024.
Here’s a quick steps checklist you can try yourself:
Visit each email-sending platform you use in your business, and copy the DKIM record. Paste each one into your DNS.
Create a custom SPF record in your DNS by including all the platforms you use to send emails. Put them all in the same record.
Copy the following DMARC record into your DNS, adjusting accordingly to improve email security.
Host: _dmarc
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none;
If you’re not 100% confident in doing so, visit MailGenius.com to run a free email spam test.
Your MailGenius test results will indicate if you are properly authenticated according to Google’s new policies. If not, you’ll receive simple, straightforward instructions to rectify the issues and boost your email deliverability in 2024.
MailGenius was created by Jesse Hernandez and Troy Ericson from EmailDeliverability.com, who are dedicated to improving email deliverability for businesses globally.
Over 500 people use MailGenius every single day to get ahead of potential spam problems and to stay compliant with policies from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other inbox providers. Try MailGenius.com now to receive a free email spam test.
Published By: Aize Perez
