How to access shared domains in Google Postmaster Tools?
Michael Ko
Co-founder & CEO, Suped
Published 21 Apr 2025
Updated 14 Aug 2025
9 min read
Summary
Accessing shared domains in Google Postmaster Tools can be counter-intuitive compared to other access granting systems. Rather than receiving an explicit invitation or email notification, users often need to manually add the shared domain to their own Google Postmaster Tools account. If the domain owner has already granted access, the domain will automatically verify, allowing the delegated user to view its data without requiring further verification steps like adding TXT records. This streamlined, yet often undocumented, process is key to monitoring email deliverability for domains managed by others.
Key findings
Manual addition: Users granted access to a domain must manually add it within their own Google Postmaster Tools account, as if setting it up for the first time.
Automatic verification: Once added, the domain will automatically appear as verified if the owner has already granted access, bypassing the need for a TXT record or other verification steps. You can learn more about this process in our guide on how to verify a domain in Google Postmaster Tools.
No direct notification: There are no email alerts or in-platform notifications to inform the delegated user that access has been granted, which often leads to confusion.
Undocumented process: This specific method for recipients to gain access is not clearly outlined in Google's official documentation, making it an unexpected 'easter egg' for many users.
Delegated access management: The owner manages user access via the 'Manage Users' option for the specific domain, allowing them to grant or revoke permissions. Our guide on how to manage user access provides further details.
Key considerations
User expectation mismatch: Most users anticipate an email invitation or direct link for shared access, making the manual addition process unexpected.
Time efficiency: Knowing this method saves significant troubleshooting time that would otherwise be spent searching for non-existent alerts or re-verification steps.
Clear communication: Domain owners should explicitly inform delegates to manually add the domain after access is granted.
Streamlined onboarding: Service providers and agencies should integrate this knowledge into their onboarding process for clients and team members who need access to client GPT data. To learn more about how to set up Google Postmaster Tools, see this guide from WP Mail SMTP.
What email marketers say
Email marketers frequently express surprise and sometimes frustration regarding the non-standard way Google Postmaster Tools handles shared domain access. Many assume a direct email invitation or an automatic appearance of shared domains, leading to wasted time searching for verification prompts or notifications. However, once they discover the simple manual addition method, they appreciate its efficiency, noting that it saves considerable effort compared to a full domain re-verification. This often-undocumented feature highlights the importance of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing within the email community.
Key opinions
Unexpected process: Many marketers find the manual addition method for shared domains to be counter to typical access granting procedures.
Efficiency once known: Once aware of the simple 'add domain' step, marketers acknowledge it's a surprisingly hassle-free way to gain access without re-verification.
Lack of clear guidance: The absence of explicit instructions in official documentation on the recipient's side is a common point of contention.
Trust in delegation: The 'magical' auto-verification upon manual addition reinforces trust in Google's underlying access delegation system.
Community reliance: Due to the undocumented nature, many marketers rely on peer advice (e.g., in forums) to understand this process.
Key considerations
Educating clients: Marketers need to proactively inform clients about how they will access the shared domain data, to manage expectations.
Avoiding wasted effort: Knowing this nuance upfront prevents marketers from spending hours troubleshooting non-existent email alerts or verification errors. This is crucial for overall deliverability.
Streamlining agency workflows: Agencies managing multiple client domains can establish a standard operating procedure for gaining shared access. You can find more information about sharing access with multiple users in our related article here.
User management: Understanding that multiple users can access a single domain is key for team collaboration. Our resource on multiple user access delves deeper.
Consistent monitoring: Once access is gained, consistent monitoring of Postmaster Tools data is vital for maintaining good sender reputation, as highlighted in this closer look at Google Postmaster Tools by Iterable.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that they initially struggled to see shared domains, only being able to access their own domain within Google Postmaster Tools, without any email alert for shared access.
16 May 2019 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that the way to access shared domains is to add them manually, similar to how one would set up a new domain initially.
16 May 2019 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
Email deliverability experts concur that Google Postmaster Tools' shared access mechanism, while unconventional, is the established method. They confirm that once a domain owner authorizes a user, the recipient simply needs to add the domain to their own Postmaster Tools account for it to become 'magically' verified. Experts highlight that Google consistently polls for these ownership records, ensuring that delegated access remains active for extended periods, sometimes for years, without needing re-authorization or fear of automatic revocation. This underlines Google's backend efficiency despite the front-end user experience being less explicit.
Key opinions
Reliable method: The manual addition of a shared domain is confirmed by experts as the current and effective way to gain delegated access.
Google's polling: Google actively polls for ownership records, meaning a domain added without initial verification can become verified over time if access is granted in the backend.
Long-term access: Delegated access, once established, tends to be long-lasting and is not automatically revoked by Google, with some experts maintaining access for years.
Undocumented but functional: While the process is not explicitly documented from the recipient's viewpoint, it is a fully functional and standard operational procedure.
Trust and authorization: The primary requirement remains proper authorization from the domain owner, as this is what Google's backend relies upon.
Consistency of access: Experts advise that once delegated access is established, it's generally stable, reducing concerns about sudden loss of data visibility. For regaining access, refer to our guide on regaining admin access.
Understanding Google's mechanisms: Deliverability professionals benefit from understanding that Google's verification is an ongoing backend process, not just a one-time front-end action.
Email expert from Email Geeks indicates that if you add a domain to Postmaster Tools without verifying it, but the client then grants you access, it will likely turn into a verified domain over time as Google polls for ownership records.
16 May 2019 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Deliverability expert from Email Geeks shares that they consistently have clients authorize them as a designated user, and Google has never revoked this access, with some domains maintained for many years.
17 May 2019 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
Google's official documentation for Postmaster Tools primarily focuses on how domain owners can grant access to other users and verify domains, rather than explicitly detailing the steps a recipient must take to view shared data. While it outlines the importance of verifying ownership via DNS records like SPF and DKIM for a domain to report data, it does not clearly describe the 'manual addition' method from the delegated user's perspective. The documentation largely assumes that once access is granted, the user will inherently know how to view the data, which creates a gap in user guidance, leading to confusion among new users or those expecting a direct invitation system.
Key findings
Owner-centric instructions: Documentation heavily emphasizes how the domain owner initiates and manages shared access.
Verification methods: The documentation details domain verification through DNS records like SPF and DKIM, crucial for data collection. For more information, read our article on DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
API access: The Postmaster Tools API overview provides technical steps for developers to programmatically access data, including authentication domain setup (DKIM or SPF).
Implicit user experience: There's an implicit assumption that users will know to manually add a domain once shared, without an explicit step-by-step guide for the recipient.
Data availability: Documentation indicates that data begins to appear in Postmaster Tools only after the domain is verified and sending sufficient volume to Gmail. For more on the tool's interface, refer to our ultimate guide to Google Postmaster Tools V2.
Key considerations
User onboarding: The current documentation structure suggests that users might need additional guidance outside of official sources to fully understand the shared access workflow.
Access initiation: Users granted access must understand that their first step is to visit the Postmaster Tools site and attempt to add the domain themselves.
API integration: For advanced users or platforms, the availability of the Postmaster Tools API means programmatic access to shared data is possible, as outlined in the Postmaster Tools API overview by Google.
Understanding data flow: It's important to grasp that domain data only starts populating once a domain is properly verified and actively sending emails to Gmail users.
Technical article
Google for Developers documentation notes that to utilize the Postmaster Tools API, a foundational step involves setting up an authentication domain, which can be either the DKIM or SPF domain associated with the email.
23 Mar 2023 - Google for Developers
Technical article
The official Gmail Postmaster Tools guide explains that users must verify ownership of domains to access data, typically via a DNS TXT record or HTML file upload to the domain's web server.
