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101: What does Sending Domains Mean?


101 • DECEMBER 6, 2021 • 5 MIN READ

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You want all your emails delivered, right? An important part of your email deliverability is that you make the right DNS settings. With the right DNS settings, you can authenticate and influence your email deliverability. In the past it was more of a recommendation to make these settings, today it is a must in order for your emails to be delivered. In this post, we will describe our Sending Domains and why this is important.

Setting up your DNS settings correctly is something you need to do when working with email marketing as this strengthens the deliverability of your emails. If you do not make these settings, you risk that many of your emails end up in your recipient’s spam folder – no matter how good and correct your mailings are. But! Be cautious when making your DNS settings, if you are unsure, it is better that you contact your IT department or your web host and ask for help. If you experiment too much on your own, it can lead to unpleasant consequences.

What is DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name Systems and is used to point your domain or subdomain to another location. You can forward to another server, IP address, another domain or mail server. The DNS settings are made where you have purchased and registered your domain.

There are different DNS records such as A, AAAA, MX, TXT, SRV, DKIM, DMARC, SSHFP, SPF and more. In this post we will go through SPF, TXT, DKIM and DMARC.

SPF

SPF is an abbreviation for Sender Policy Framework and is an email validation that prevents spam by verifying the IP address used by the sender. This is to prevent spammers from using an email address on your domain as the sender address. This setting controls the sending of email messages from an authenticated server.

With SPF, you can specify which outgoing mail servers are approved to send email from with your domain name. When an email is sent from your domain, the incoming mail server checks if the message comes from an authenticated server before it is delivered to the recipient.

TXT

TXT is an abbreviation for Text and can be used to send information, such as SPF information. TXT records can be used to verify that you are the owner of your domain, such as when you want to set up netProviders on your domain.

DKIM

DKIM is an abbreviation for Domain Keys Identified Mail, which enables an organization to take responsibility for sending a message in a way that can be verified by the email provider. This means that it is checked that emails do not change during transport. An encrypted signature is added to the header of the email and with the help of it the recipient’s email server and email program can see that the email received is the same email that was sent.

DMARC 

DMARC is an abbreviation for Domain-based Message Authentication Reporting & Conformance. It is an authentication and reporting system that makes it easier for email servers on the internet to determine which emails come from a particular domain that are legitimate and which ones are phising or spam. DMARC is based on SPF and DKIM and if none of these authentication methods succeeds, the DMARC policy determines what to do with the message.

netProviders recommends that you make DMARC settings for your deliverability but would like to clarify that it is important that this is done correctly as incorrect settings of DMARC can contribute to difficult consequences. There is no ready-made code, like SPF, TXT and DKIM, because it varies depending on which email you want the reports to. Some domains already have DMARC embedded, and if you do not have this, you can add a DMARC entry to your web host. Exactly how to do this varies from web host to web host. Always configure DKIM and SPF before configuring your DMARC record. 

A DMARC record can look like this:

1. TXT postal name: 

_dmarc.mydomain.com

NOTE! Some domain hosts automatically add the domain name after _dmarc. Once you have added the TXT record, you can verify the DMARC name of the TXT record so that it is formatted correctly. Replace mydomain.com with your own domain.

2. TXT record value: 

v = DMARC1; p = none; rua = mailto: reports@mydomain.com

Your provider may have other field names. The fields for DNS TXT records may vary depending on which provider you are using. The text used above is an example. Replace the email address reports@mydomain.com with your own email address.

All in all…

The first thing you should do as a new user of netProviders is to complete your DNS settings. You will find the SPF, TXT and DKIM posts under Account> Sending Domains. Making these DNS settings plays an important role when working with email marketing and are basic components for email authentication that protect email senders and recipients from spam, phishing and spoofing. For your DMARC records, check with your IT department or your web host. 

Even though you make these settings, you still need to make sure that the material you send meets the requirements of most email providers today. You can therefore not rely solely on your SPF, TXT, DKIM and DMARC settings, but must follow certain rules to avoid your emails being interpreted as spam, phishing and spoofing.



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