How to Increase Email Reputation of Your Domain: SPF, DKIM

Occasionally, your emails may end up in another user's junk mail folder or get blocked entirely if the receiving server judges that the server sending the emails has a poor reputation. You can improve your email's reputation by activating two important features through your cPanel: SPF & DomainKeys.

What are SPF and DKIM?

SPF and DKIM are special configurations of a mail server, allowing you to identify yourself as the legitimate sender of an email.

SPF verifies that the mail servers are authorized to send email for your domain.

DKIM ensures that the content of your emails remain trusted and hasn't been altered or compromised.

Why add an SPF/DKIM to my domain?

By configuring an SPF/DomainKey on your domain, you significantly reduce the chance of having your sent emails identified as spam (aka junk mail). Large email service providers such as Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo! all use SPF as a criterion of the legitimacy of an email.

How can I add an SPF/DKIM configuration to my domain?

With the cPanel, adding an SPF/DomainKey is simple:

  1. Connect to your cPanel
  2. Click on Email Deliverability in the Mail section
  3. From the list, click the Manage button(next to your domain name)
  4. You may edit your DKIM and/or SPF settings as required
  5. Factor in several hours for your configuration to become active (Internet propagation delay)

If you send emails from other servers (for instance, if you use a third-party service to write to your domain's mailing lists), you will need to add the mail server's coordinates (host, IP address) as follows:

  1. Connect to your cPanel
  2. Click on Email Deliverability in the Mail section
  3. From the list, click the manage button (next to your domain name)
  4. Under the SPF section, click customize
  5. Scroll down to the Additional Settings section
  6. Click Add A New “+include” Item
  7. Enter spf.web-dns1.com into the field
  8. Click the Install A Customized SPF Record button (at the bottom of the page)
  9. Factor in several hours for your configuration to become active (Internet propagation delay)

This procedure applies to our regular, shared, and reseller plans. If you have a cloud or dedicated server plan, please reach out to our support team for assistance.

For more information about SPF, consult: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sender_Policy_Framework
For DKIM information, consult: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DomainKeys_Identified_Mail

Article ID: #HC5039

Was this answer helpful?