Set your sender. Configuring SPF, custom domain and DKIM

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Set your sender. Configuring SPF, custom domain and DKIM

Step 1: SPF

The SPF protocol, in just a few words, it is a DNS record to improve the security of your domain.

This setting will tell the antispam filters that this message is authentic and that the IP is authorized to send it. This setting will prevent theft of identity, as only the domain administrator can add this record.

In this way, we prevent that ISPs like Hotmail, Yahoo!, Gmail, etc. consider your message as SPAM.

To configure it, you will have to access your DNS manager or contact your hosting service to ask them to do it for you.

All you need to do is add to your current SPF (it’s a TXT record in your domain), the following include:

include:spf.ipzmarketing.com

And if you don’t have a previously configured SPF record, they will have to add this record:

v=spf1 include:spf.ipzmarketing.com –all

This word, “all” indicates that only the IPs listed in this SPF line can send emails using this domain.

If you don’t use “-all” or use another setting, such as “~all,” the configuration would be more permissive because it would allow external servers to send emails using the domain, but it would positively score the IPs that are listed in the SPF record.

In case it ends in ?all or +all, it would be so lax that the change would be useless.

But the “-all” code allows only authorized IPs to send messages from your domain.

You can check if you SPF record is correct, in your Mailrelay account, in Settings menú -> Email authentication.

Also, of course, you can contact us and ask our staff to help you to make sure it is correct.

Step 2: Custom domain

A custom domain is a subdomain that you can configure to replace the default Mailrelay account name and use a custom URL.

That is, your Mailrelay account will have a URL like this one:

Yourdomain.ipzmarketing.com

To configure it, you will have to access your DNS manager or contact your hosting service to ask them to do it for you.

First you have to create a new subdomain. You can use any URL, for instance: newsletter.yourdomain.com or news.yourdomain.com

Once you’ve created it, you’ll need to add a CNAME record to that subdomain that redirects to

Yourdomain.ipzmarketing.com

You can check if you custom domain is correct, in your Mailrelay account, in Settings menú -> Email authentication.

Also, of course, you can contact us and ask our staff to help you to make sure it is correct.

Step 3: DKIM

A DKIM key is an authentication system that will validate a message with a unique signature that will confirm to the filter that the sender is the same domain that originated it.

To configure it, you will have to access your DNS manager or contact your hosting service to ask them to do it for you.

First, you have to create the subdomain, which has to be exactly:

ipz._domainkey.yourdomain.com

(Always remember to replace “yourdomain.com” with your domain name)

Once you’ve created it, you’ll have to add a CNAME record and redirect it to:

dkim.ipzmarketing.com.

(The “dot” at the end of the string should also be included)

You can check if your DKIM is correct, in your Mailrelay account, in Settings menú -> Email authentication.

Also, of course, you can contact us and ask our staff to help you to make sure it is correct.

Step 4: DMARC

A DMARC record is an email authentication protocol. Basically, it will inform SMTP servers what to do when receiving a message from your domain that was not authenticated.

To set it up, you will need to contact your hosting company’s technical support.

They just need to create a new record with this data:

_dmarc.yourdomain.com

and add a TXT record with this entry:

v=DMARC1; p=none;

You can check if your DMARC is correct, in your Mailrelay account, in Settings menú -> Email authentication.

And as always, if you need more information, you can contact us through our customer service channels.