Email Authentication - Don't Let Your Emails End Up in Spam
You may spend hours or even days crafting the perfect email as a marketer. If your email gets buried in the spam folder Your latest email message is probably not going to be successful.
Fortunately, there is a way to side-step the dreaded spam folder black hole. With the help of email authentication, you will be able to prove to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that your marketing emails have been legitimately sent and merit an appearance in your the inboxes of recipients.
Let's get started!
What exactly is email authentication (and the way it functions)
Nobody likes junk mail. The ISPs work continuously to decrease the volume of unwanted messages we receive within our email inboxes. They achieve this by scrutinizing the origin of the message and then determining whether it's coming from an authentic sender or even a spammer.
It's the place the reason why email authentication is important. It's a method that the receiving server can make use of to confirm that the message isn't forged.
For this verification it is the responsibility of the server to verify that the message came from the person that is listed in the From field. In this way the email authentication process can stop frauds like phishing and spoofing, where an email appears to be authentic but is being sent out by a malicious third party.
The recipient server can also verify whether an email changed in transportation. This can protect your contacts from machine-in-the-middle attacks.
The servers receiving emails can refer to these rules in confirming emails that come through. If the message is legitimate, the server will deliver it to the recipient's inbox. If, however, your message does not pass the test the message could be returned, rejected, or sent straight to spam.
What is the reason email authentication is so important?
For the recipient, email authentication serves a clear goal. It helps protect the person from spam, phishing scams, and other malicious emails.
In the absence of authentication, third-party users can easily change the source of email to defy filtering of spam. They could even replicate your distinctive branding and trick the recipients into believing that it is legitimate communications.
Any attack that impersonates your business is a massive danger to trust among customers. Because of this, the use of email authentication is an essential instrument to protect your reputation and maintaining your customer base.
Through authenticating your domain as well as email, these platforms can send messages on your behalf through your domain's address. For example, Mailchimp will remove the initial authentication data (via mcsv.net or in the name of mcsv.net) that appears alongside your email's from field. This improves your brand visibility and can encourage your subscribers to open your emails.
5 Primary Email Authentication Methods
For email authentication, it is necessary for the servers for sending and receiving to cooperate and coordinate. Fortunately, email authentication standards make sure that all email clients as well as providers can communicate in the similar language. Before we explain how to set up authentication, let's take a look at these underlying requirements.
1. DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) provides a unique public key that pairs with a private. This DKIM signature is an element included in the message. It is secured with encryption.
This way, DKIM can verify that the message is sent by a legitimate sender. A DKIM signature can also prevent hackers from tampering with an email while it's in transit as part of a machine-in-the-middle attack.
Here's an example of a DKIM record that Mailchimp uses for authentication:
CNAME record: k1._domainkey.yourdomain.comValue (resolves to): dkim.mcsv.net
TXT Name: ml._domainkey.yourdomain.com
TXT Value: k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQDdgIGns7EFVltvAkNNdbXD9KYSzAUNQky8POXwH62. Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an authentication standard that verifies your identity as the email's sender. The policy compares the sender's IP address of the mail server to an IP address list authorized to send mail through that specific domain. It is then added to the SPF record is added the DNS of the sender.
If you fail to use SPF authentication, the receiver server could reject your emails as they come as if they came from an unidentified sender. Here's an example SPF TXT file that Mailchimp utilizes for authenticating emails:
v=spf1 include:servers.mcsv.net ?allA number of the most renowned corporations in the world utilize SFP which includes Google, Comcast, Verizon, Live.com, and Cox.net.
3. Sender ID
Created in the hands of Microsoft, Sender ID is commonly grouped with SPF. Both SPF and Sender ID and SPF verify the sender's IP address against the owner of the domain's registered address. But their methods are slightly different.
Sender ID uses an algorithm called the purported responsible address (PRA) method to determine the apparent sender address in the message. Let's look at an example of the Sender ID records:
v=spf1 include:servers.mcsv.net ?all spf2.0/pra include:servers.mcsv.net ?allSender ID was primarily used by Hotmail as well as Windows Live Mail, both are no more. Since it wasn't widely adopted, Microsoft has removed the official Sender ID website.
It's not difficult to see Sender ID outdated, it's employed in several services, particularly those that are on-premise Microsoft Exchange servers. A few ISPs such as Comcast and AT&T also utilize Sender ID.
4. Domain Message Authentication Reporting , and Conformance (DMARC)
Domain Message Authentication and Conformance (DMARC) is an approach to handle emails that fail SPF and DKIM authentication. It gives you greater control over the authentication of your email system and helps protect the recipients from phishing and other spoofing attacks.
Utilizing DMARC it is possible to tell that the email server receiving it how it should react to an email that appears to come from your domain but doesn't meet an SPF or DKIM security requirements for authentication. This is an example of a DMARC record using the TXT format:
v=DMARC1;p=reject;pct=100;rua=mailto:yourdomain.comIt is also possible to use DMARC to obtain information from your email server regarding unsuccessful messages and possible fake domains. These reports can help you detect any issues with authentication or malicious activities that may be associated with messages that are sent out from your domain.
5. Brand Indicates for the purpose of facilitating Message Identification (BIMI)
The Brand Indicators message Identification (BIMI) standard attaches your brand's logo to your authenticated emails. In the background, BIMI is a text file that is stored in DNS files and is the address of your business's logo.
The service will search your BIMI text record using the DNS search whenever it gets a message. Once the provider finds your logo, it will attach this graphic to your email and place it in the recipient's inbox.
The simple verification of visuals helps recipients spot your message and verify its authenticity. If they receive an email that does not contain your company's logo, they will instantly recognize that it's not a legitimate message.
Unlike the other verification methods we've explored, BMI is the only approach that provides a visual indication to the recipient. It will also result in fewer people incorrectly flagging your messages as spam. This could increase your delivery rates.
A typical Internet user gets dozens or even hundreds of emails every throughout the day. Through displaying your company's logo within the email inbox of the recipient, BIMI can help you get the reader's attention and encourage them to interact with your emails.
BIMI can also be a way to market your business, regardless of whether the user decides to open the messages. Even if the person never opens your email, they will still see your subject line, the sender's address and the logo. This is a great way to establish the brand's reputation.
How to Set Up Email Authentication
As a result of this error the open rate of their site dropped by 4.79 percent from the previous month, and their click rates decreased by 1.56. This is a perfect illustration of the reason why you shouldn't send your email to spammers.
Do you want to know how we increased our traffic over 1000 per cent?
Join over 20,000 others to receive our newsletter every week with insider WordPress advice!
Make sure that this doesn't occur to your email accounts. Here's how to set up authentication to three of the most popular email platforms.
1. Mailchimp
By the default setting, Mailchimp will apply DKIM verification to all campaigns. However, if you use a custom email domain, setting up the domain's own DKIM authentication is a good idea. Mailchimp will then display your domain's information in the email header. This could increase speed of delivery and make your communications appear more professional. It also aligns with your DMARC and enables you to utilize BIMI.
For your domain to be authenticated, you'll have to copy/paste the details from Mailchimp to your domain's CNAME records. If you're not already doing this then you'll need to authenticate your domain. This allows Mailchimp to validate that you are authorized to mail emails to the address.
To authenticate your domain, log into your Mailchimp account. Select the web button that appears along the left side of the screen.
Then, go to Domains, then Add & Verify Domain. Once prompted, input the email address at the domain you wish to verify, then hit Verification Email Send.
Select the domain you would like to connect with your email platform and click the associated Manage button. The upper-right-hand corner is where you can click on Add a DNS record:
To use you to use the DKIM security method to authenticate, click the option CNAME tab. Now, add the CNAME record with the data supplied by Mailchimp.
Within the Hostname field, type the following: k1._domainkey. Just be aware that most DNS management tools will append the domain on autopilot Be careful not to input the complete value Mailchimp has provided.
In the Point To field, type in the following information: dkim.mcsv.net. After that, click Add DNS Record.
It is necessary to add a TXT record using the values provided by Mailchimp for the authentication method SPF. It's as simple as clicking add a DNS record and then selecting the TXT.
You can simply leave the hostname field unfilled. In the Content field, enter the following: v=spf1 include:servers.mcsv.net ?all.
Then, select Add DNS Record. Switch back to the Mailchimp dashboard and click authenticate domain. It may take some time to allow DNS records to spread and you might have to wait. It is possible to check the state of your records using whatsmydns.
Once the records are propagated, your email and domain will be authenticated. In this case, we recommend that you change the Fromaddress to your address book in order to correspond with your domain name. This helps avoid confusion, resulting in your messages getting flagged wrongly as spam.
2. Constant Contact
When you've launched your campaign you'll be able to track your campaign at any time using Constant Call's inbuilt analytics tools and report tools.
The majority of mail received from Constant Contact is already DKIM certified and must pass an SPF test. The company suggests activating the Constant Contact Authentication feature. It allows you to sign up as an official sender on Constant Contact. Constant Contact mailing domain.
Constant contact Authentication helps to strengthen your branding and help your message be more recognizable to the recipients. It can reduce the number of recipients who report your emails as spam.
Sign in to the Constant Contact's dashboard and click My Account to turn on this feature. In the My Account section, go to the Campaign Email Authentication Settings and then enable authentication through Constant Contact.
Enter the email address that you wish to verify, which includes Webmail addresses that are free, such as ones from Gmail and Outlook. Once you have entered your email address, click on Save. It can take up to 24 hours to provision an account that is authenticated, which means you'll require waiting.
The ISP will look up the header address of your sender in the email whenever you email. It will also review the authenticity records you have published and verify that you're legitimately sending.
Just be aware you must be aware that sender's Header address will be visible to the recipient, although its appearance may vary depending on the email client. The Reply-To-Address number is the same , so any responses will be sent directly to your email address instead than through the Constant Contact server.
3. HubSpot
If you'd like to send messages from your domain via DKIM email authentication, you can connect the domain that you use to send emails to HubSpot. The first step is to authenticate your domain within the HubSpot account. In your HubSpot dashboard, select the Settings icon on the main navigation bar.
Next, navigate to Website > Domains & URLs > Connecting a domain. In the next dialog box, choose Email Sending, and then click on Connect. Now, you'll be directed to the domain connection screen.
In the event that you are asked to, input your email address that you wish to use for all emails that you transmit via this domain. After that, click the next button.
If you do not see any configurations for your domain, it could be that you do not have permission to view this area of the HubSpot portal. If this is the case, reach out to your super admin, whom you can ask for all the permissions you require.
After you've made the DKIM signature, it's time to join it with the DNS record. Users can login to the My dashboard and choose DNS from the left-hand menu. Then, search for the domain in question and click on the Manage button.
In the upper-right-hand corner, select to add a DNS record. Then, click on to go on the TXT tab. Now, you can input all the data provided by HubSpot to verify your sending domain.
Monitor Your Email Authentication Health
Your email authentication will run in the background most of the time without requiring any day-to-day maintenance. In reality, the authentication process can be the difference between your most recent campaign that is generating a staggering number of click-Through Rates (CTRs) or getting lost in the spam.
With the stakes so high It's important to keep an eye on the condition of your email authentication. It's important to keep an eye on your marketing metrics.
Spikes in your bounce rates or an abrupt drop in engagement, may indicate that there is some issue in your implementation of email authentication. It is good to know that the marketing tools that we have reviewed in this post have built-in analytics.
If you're using Mailchimp it is possible to view detailed information about your latest email marketing campaign. Start by selecting the Campaigns icon.
Find the email that you wish to review and then click on the associated View Report button. Mailchimp will now provide all the data about this particular campaign, such as open and bounce rates.
If you're using Constant Contact, your dashboard features a special "Reporting" tab. This is where you can see your analytics over a specific period.
It allows you to determine whether your campaigns have experienced an abrupt change in engagement levels or an unsettling spike in bounce rates. If you spot issues, you are able to identify the precise date at which it occurred. This can be done by searching the various dates.
If you're an avid HubSpot fan, you can view the performance metrics from any email when you log into the HubSpot dashboard. From here, go to marketing > email.
Select the email you want to look at on the next screen, followed by See details. This opens the Performance tab, where you will be able to get an overall summary of the engagement of this email.
Summary
Let's quickly recap the five most important methods for establishing email security:
- DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM): This method adds an encrypted signature to the header of your advertising messages.
- Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a technical standard that enables you to publish the DNS record of all the domains that you use for sending your marketing email.
- Sender ID The standard is endorsed by Microsoft however, just a handful of selected technologies utilize this protocol to spot fraud today.
- Domain message authentication reporting and conformance (DMARC): This tells the server how to respond if it receives a message that claims to be from your domain, however, it fails SPF or DKIM authentication.
- Brand Indicators to help with Message Identification (BIMI): This innovative method allows you to add your logo to authenticated messages that are delivered to the inbox of your recipient.
Do you have any questions regarding the use of the use of email authentication? Let us know by commenting below!
Save time, costs and maximize site performance with:
- Help is available immediately 24/7 support from WordPress hosting experts, 24/7.
- Cloudflare Enterprise integration.
- The global reach of the audience is enhanced by 29 data centers around the world.
- Optimization through the built-in Application to monitor performance.