Glossary · email-marketing
What is SPF, DKIM and DMARC?
SPF, DKIM and DMARC are three DNS records that prove an email claiming to be from your domain really is. SPF lists the servers allowed to send mail for your domain. DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to each message so the receiver can check it was not altered. DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with mail that fails those checks — deliver it, quarantine it or reject it — and where to send reports. Since 2024, Gmail and Yahoo require bulk senders to have all three set up correctly, and even small senders without them are more likely to land in spam. Setting them up is a one-time job done in your domain's DNS settings.
What does SPF, DKIM and DMARC mean for a business in Pakistan?
Many Pakistani businesses send from a domain registered years ago by a developer who has since disappeared, so nobody can log in to the DNS. Recovering access to the domain account is often the real first step before email marketing can work at all.
A worked example
Say an Islamabad software house sends newsletters through Mailchimp from its own domain, and most land in Gmail spam. Its DNS has an old SPF record that does not include Mailchimp and no DKIM or DMARC. After adding the provider's records and a DMARC policy of 'none' to start, delivery to the inbox improves and reports begin arriving.
Terms that go with this one
These come up in the same conversations and are worth reading together.
- Sender reputationsender reputationSender reputation is the trust score that mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook quietly keep for your sending domain and IP address. It rises when…
- Open rateopen rateOpen rate is the percentage of delivered emails recorded as opened. It is measured by a tiny invisible image in the email that loads when the message…
- Drip sequencedrip emailsA drip sequence is a series of automated emails (or messages) sent on a schedule after someone takes an action — signing up, downloading a guide,…
- Opt-inijazat lenaAn opt-in is a customer's clear permission to receive messages from a business on a particular channel — WhatsApp, email or SMS. It should be…
- List segmentationlist ko groups mein baantnaList segmentation means dividing your email or WhatsApp contacts into groups so each group receives messages that fit them, instead of sending…
SPF, DKIM and DMARC — quick answers
What does SPF, DKIM and DMARC mean?
SPF, DKIM and DMARC are three DNS records that prove an email claiming to be from your domain really is. SPF lists the servers allowed to send mail for your domain.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC ko Urdu mein kya kehte hain?
ای میل تصدیقی ریکارڈز — though in practice almost everyone in Pakistan says "SPF DKIM DMARC". Many Pakistani businesses send from a domain registered years ago by a developer who has since disappeared, so nobody can log in to the DNS.
Why does SPF, DKIM and DMARC matter for a business in Pakistan?
Many Pakistani businesses send from a domain registered years ago by a developer who has since disappeared, so nobody can log in to the DNS. Recovering access to the domain account is often the real first step before email marketing can work at all.
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