Email Authentication and Delivery. A guide to managing SPF, DKIM and DMARC

Setting up SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) authentication for your domain prior to sending email campaigns is crucial for several reasons. These authentication mechanisms help ensure that your emails are recognised as legitimate and increase the likelihood of successful delivery to recipients' inboxes.

SPF specifies which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain, preventing spammers from impersonating your domain. DKIM adds a layer of security by digitally signing your emails, verifying their authenticity and integrity. Both SPF and DKIM contribute to your emails being trusted by email service providers and recipients, reducing the chances of them being flagged as spam.

Setting up SPF and DKIM on your domain

By implementing SPF and DKIM, you establish credibility and trust with both email service providers and your audience. It also helps maintain a positive sending reputation for your domain and the email platform, benefiting all users. 

Login to your account and navigate to Settings > Domain Setup and click on "Add A Domain".

Specify your domain name and click on "Add Domain". Provide an email address and click on "Send Verification Link". This will send you an email with a link to verify that you have access to that inbox. 

Once verified, you'll be provided with the required DNS updates for your domain. 

These updates will need to be made within the portal of your domain registrar (eg: GoDaddy). We recommend that you ask your IT team to make these updates or reach out to the support team of your domain registrar so they can provide you with instructions. 

Once updates have been made, head back into Settings > Domain Setup and click on "Test DNS".

It is important that you see green ticks for Verification, DKIM and SPF. Changes made to the DNS of your domain may not be instant. So, it is best to wait 24 hours and retesting. 

Once the setup has been completed, all emails sent via the platform will automatically be signed using your domain (it is important that you use the same domain for sending emails).

TX and BOUNCE Authentication

As well as SPF and DKIM settings, you are also provided with additional updates called TX and BOUNCE. These are CNAME record updates (also made to your domain) and are optional. 

The TX updates ensures that the analytics collection (including tracking clicks and opens) within the email campaign utilises your domain rather than the generic contacta.io. 
The BOUNCE update is used for all bounce notification emails. 
These updates are optional but, do help with delivery.

What about DMARC?

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that builds upon SPF and DKIM. It adds an additional layer of control and reporting to email authentication practices.

DMARC allows domain owners to specify how email receivers should handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks. It enables the domain owner to set policies that determine whether to reject, quarantine, or allow emails that don't pass authentication. 

If your domain has a DMARC policy set to "reject" emails, you must setup SPF and DKIM prior to sending out emails. Failure to do so will result in a large bounce rate and majority of your emails delivered into the junk folder.