arrobaMail
Technical setup

How do you authenticate your domain for email marketing?

Short answer

Authenticating your domain means proving to mail providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) that the emails you send are legitimate. It takes two steps: first you verify your sender email via a link, then you publish three records in your domain's DNS: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. It's the most important step for your campaigns to reach the inbox.

The two steps to certify a sender

  1. 1

    Verify the sender email

    From "My senders" in arrobaMail, you add the address with your own domain (for example [email protected]) and confirm the link you receive.

  2. 2

    Set up SPF and DKIM in your DNS

    arrobaMail tells you exactly which records to publish in your domain's DNS zone and validates them once they propagate. Add DMARC to close the loop.

What each record is

  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework): states which servers can send on behalf of your domain.
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): a cryptographic signature that proves the email wasn't altered and that it came from your domain.
  • DMARC: a policy that tells providers what to do when a message fails SPF or DKIM (nothing, quarantine, or reject) and sends you reports.

Why you can't use Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo

Public, free mailboxes can't be certified: you don't control their DNS, so you can't publish SPF/DKIM on that domain. On top of that, since 2024 Gmail and Yahoo heavily penalize bulk mail sent "on behalf of" their own domains. For professional sending, always use a domain of your own.

Gmail and Yahoo requirements for bulk sending (2026)

  • SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configured and aligned.
  • One-click unsubscribe, with unsubscribes processed within 48 hours.
  • Keeping the spam complaint rate below 0.3% (ideally under 0.1%).

Updated

May 2026

Reviewed by

arrobaMail Deliverability Team · 20+ years in the industry (TECSID since 2004)

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