How to Increase Email Reputation of Your Domain: SPF, DKIM
Your email’s reputation can affect whether it ends up in a recipient’s inbox or junk folder. By setting up SPF and DKIM correctly, you can improve this reputation and ensure your emails are trusted by major providers like Gmail, Hotmail, and Yahoo!.
- What Are SPF and DKIM?
- Steps to Configure SPF and DKIM for Your Domain
- Emails and DNS Hosted with WHC
- Emails Hosted with WHC but DNS Managed Elsewhere
- Emails Hosted Outside WHC but DNS Managed with WHC
- Test and Verify Your Configuration
- Additional Resources
What Are SPF and DKIM?
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Verifies that only authorized mail servers can send emails on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Ensures that the content of your emails hasn’t been altered during transit.
Steps to Configure SPF and DKIM for Your Domain
Before proceeding, it’s important to know where your emails are hosted and where your domain’s DNS is managed. Here’s how you can check:
- Email Hosting: If you use webmail or an email client through your WHC hosting plan, or if you use a third-party service (e.g., G Suite, Office 365), this is where your emails are hosted.
- DNS Management: You can determine where your DNS is managed by checking the nameservers of your domain. To see if your domain's DNS is managed by WHC, please consult this article.
Emails and DNS Hosted with WHC
If your emails and DNS are both hosted with WHC, setting up SPF and DKIM is straightforward:
- Log into your cPanel.
- Go to the Email section and click on Email Deliverability.
- Click Repair next to the domain in question.
- Allow a few hours for DNS propagation.
Emails Hosted with WHC but DNS Managed Elsewhere
If your emails are hosted with WHC, but your DNS is managed through a third-party service (like Cloudflare or Google Domains), you can still configure SPF and DKIM by:
- Log into your cPanel.
- Navigate to Email Deliverability in the Email section.
- Click Manage next to your domain.
- Copy the provided DKIM record.
- Copy the provided SPF record.
- Log into your third-party DNS provider and add these SPF and DKIM records as TXT records.
- Wait for the DNS changes to propagate.
Emails Hosted Outside WHC but DNS Managed with WHC
If your emails are hosted elsewhere (e.g., G Suite or Office 365) but your DNS is managed through WHC, you’ll need to:
- Obtain the SPF and DKIM records from your email provider (e.g., G Suite or Office 365).
- Log into your cPanel.
- Add the SPF and DKIM records as TXT records for your domain.
Tip
You can follow the steps in this article to add the SPF and DKIM records.
Test and Verify Your Configuration
After setting up SPF and DKIM, it's important to test and verify that the records are functioning correctly. You can use tools like:
These tools will show you if your records are valid and ensure your email reputation is improving.
Additional Resources
For more information, you can consult the following articles:
