Implementing DKIM, SPF, and DMARC requires careful planning, understanding of costs, and adherence to best practices. A missing DMARC record can negatively impact DMARC reporting. The implementation should ideally start with a 'p=none' policy for monitoring and identifying authentication gaps, even though this setting incurs costs related to reporting and management. A phased approach is advised: ensure mail authentication, implement 'p=none', and then move to 'p=quarantine pct=0'. The correct DMARC setup can be expensive, varying significantly depending on the business size and complexity, potentially reaching tens of thousands of dollars. Moving beyond the 'p=none' policy involves substantial costs for process development, vendor management, and continuous monitoring. SPF records prevent email forgery by specifying authorized mail servers, improving email classification. DMARC policies protect the domain by instructing receivers on handling authentication failures, while DKIM adds an encrypted signature for verifying email integrity. Proper alignment between SPF and DKIM is crucial for the correct functioning of DMARC. SPF hard fail signifies an unauthorized sending host, likely resulting in spam classification.
8 marketer opinions
Implementing DKIM, SPF, and DMARC involves several best practices and cost considerations. DMARC reporting provides visibility into email authentication issues, while costs vary based on organizational size and complexity, ranging from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per month. SPF implementation should include only authorized sending sources and a single record per domain. Monitoring DMARC reports is vital for addressing authentication problems and preventing domain spoofing. A phased DMARC setup, starting with a 'p=none' policy, is recommended. SPF helps prevent address forging by specifying authorized mail servers, and DKIM ensures email integrity. Proper alignment between SPF and DKIM is crucial for effective DMARC implementation.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that a best practice for SPF implementation is to only include the domains and IP addresses from which you actually send email. Also, ensure you only have one SPF record per domain.
20 Nov 2024 - Mailjet
Marketer view
Email marketer from SparkPost stresses that proper alignment between SPF and DKIM is essential for DMARC to function correctly. Your 'From' address domain must match the domain used for SPF and DKIM validation.
22 Jun 2023 - SparkPost
9 expert opinions
Implementing DKIM, SPF, and DMARC involves careful planning and consideration of costs. A missing DMARC record can lead to reporting issues. It's advisable to initiate DMARC implementation with a 'p=none' policy to avoid unexpected problems. Setting 'p=none' still has costs related to reporting and management. Before any DMARC record, ensure all mail is authenticated, then use 'p=none' to identify unknowns, followed by 'p=quarantine pct=0' for further discovery. Implementing DMARC correctly can be expensive, with costs relative to business size and complexity, potentially reaching significant figures. When moving beyond 'p=none', there are considerable costs for process development, vendor management, and monitoring. SPF hard fails indicate unauthorized sending hosts and can result in spam classification.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that before setting any DMARC record, you should do a round of "is all our mail authenticated?" then go p=none to find whatever bits you didn’t know about, then go p=quarantine pct=0 and discover the next set of mail you didn’t know about.
22 Jul 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks advises to start DMARC with p=none to avoid unpleasant surprises.
7 Dec 2022 - Email Geeks
4 technical articles
Implementing DKIM, SPF, and DMARC is crucial for email security and deliverability. SPF records prevent spammers from forging 'From' addresses, increasing the likelihood that your emails are correctly classified and not marked as spam. DMARC policies allow senders to indicate that their emails are protected by SPF and/or DKIM, instructing receivers on how to handle messages that fail authentication (e.g., junk or reject). DKIM adds an encrypted digital signature, enabling receiving servers to verify the message's origin and authenticity. A DMARC record, a TXT record in your DNS, informs receiving mail servers on actions to take when emails fail SPF or DKIM checks.
Technical article
Documentation from Google explains that SPF records can prevent spammers from sending messages with forged 'From' addresses at your domain. When a receiving mail server checks that messages from your domain comply with the SPF record, messages are more likely to be correctly classified and not marked as spam.
1 Nov 2023 - Google
Technical article
Documentation from Cloudflare explains that a DMARC record is a TXT record in your DNS that tells receiving mail servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks, such as quarantining or rejecting them.
24 Dec 2023 - Cloudflare
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