By: Email Paramedic
Have you ever sent an email and wondered if the recipient never saw it?
Whether you are sending a personalized 1-on-1 email to a specific colleague or launching a broad cold email campaign aimed at thousands of prospects, the financial implications can be harsh. What good is a well-written email if no one sees it?
In 2024, email deliverability is harder than ever. Google released an update this year that is putting more emails than ever into the spam folder or Gmail Promotions Tab.
As of this year, Google requires all ‘bulk senders’ to set up SPF or DKIM email authentication – ideally both. Per the new Gmail Guidelines, you should follow these requirements:
- Make sure your domains or IPs have valid forward & reverse DNS records.
- Switch to a TLS connection for transmitting email.
- Keep your ‘User Reported Spam Rate below 0.3% in Google Postmaster Tools.
- Format messages using Internet Message Format standard RFC 5322.
- Ensure you are not impersonating Gmail “From: Headers”.
- If your business manages a forwarding service, mailing lists, or inbound gateways, add ARC headers to all outgoing emails.
If you aren’t sure what all that means, don’t panic. You can visit MailGenius.com to run a free email spam test.
Your MailGenius email spam test results will tell you if you are properly authenticated according to Google’s new policies. If not, there are simple instructions to follow to fix the problem and improve your email deliverability in 2024.
MailGenius is operated by Troy Ericson and Jesse Hernandez of EmailDeliverability.com, who aim to improve email deliverability for businesses around the world.
This is especially important as of June 2024, as Google claims they will begin to block some emails that aren’t properly authenticated with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC policies.
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail, a type of DNS record that allows recipients to verify that an email was actually sent by the owner of the domain it was sent from. This is done by attaching a digital signature to each outgoing email, which is compared against a public cryptographic key published in the sender’s DNS records.
SPF, or Sender Policy Framework, verifies the authenticity of the emails sent from a domain. Your SPF record must include a list of all the platforms, softwares, and servers authorized to send emails using the sender’s domain – otherwise it may be blocked. This record works by specifying which mail servers are permitted to send email from your domain, thus helping to prevent spammers from sending messages with forged “from” addresses on the sender’s domain.
DMARC (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is the special DNS record that couples the effects of DKIM and SPF. It enables domain owners to enhance the security of their email communications by implementing a DMARC DNS record in which they can specify the security protocols for their emails. If an email fails DKIM or SPF due to a spam attack, a DMARC policy can block the email from being sent. This technology helps to prevent email spoofing, phishing attacks, and other forms of email-based abuse. Additionally, DMARC provides a way for email senders to receive reports on the performance of their emails, providing real-time insights into email delivery issues and security flaws. This feedback mechanism is crucial for organizations looking to protect their brand and improve the integrity of their email campaigns.
That might sound like a lot to understand, but that’s why Troy & Jesse created MailGenius.com. Simply visit the site and send a test email to see if your email fails any of the protocols mentioned above. If so, simple instructions will be provided to help you solve the problem and improve your email deliverability in 2024.
Over 15,000 people use MailGenius every month. Give it a try for yourself by running a free email spam test on MailGenius.com today.
Published by: Khy Talara
