Why is monitoring DNS record changes important for email deliverability?

DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are crucial for email authentication. If these records are incorrect, deleted, or altered without proper coordination, emails may fail authentication checks, leading to them being sent to the spam folder, bounced, or even causing the sending domain to be placed on a blocklist (or blacklist). Monitoring these records helps prevent such deliverability issues.

How do specialized email deliverability services differ from generic DNS monitoring tools?

While generic DNS monitoring tools can detect changes to any DNS record, they don't provide the email-specific context needed for deliverability. They might not differentiate between a critical email-related DNS change (like a missing DKIM key) and a non-critical one. Specialized email deliverability tools understand the nuances of email authentication records.

What types of services provide DNS record change monitoring for email deliverability?

Many email deliverability platforms, especially those focusing on DMARC monitoring , offer this capability. They track SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records and provide alerts on changes. Reputable DMARC providers often include this as a core feature. Additionally, some larger ESPs also integrate DNS monitoring into their platforms.

How are changes to DNS records typically reported?

Alerts usually come through email, SMS, or integrations with communication platforms like Slack. The goal is to provide real-time or near real-time notifications so that you can quickly investigate and rectify any unauthorized or accidental changes to your DNS records before they significantly impact your email campaigns .

Why is this monitoring particularly important for organizations sending from third-party domains?

Monitoring DNS record changes is critical when dealing with third-party domains because you don't have direct control over their DNS settings. Unannounced changes by the domain owner can break your email authentication, leading to deliverability issues. Services that monitor these changes ensure you are immediately aware and can communicate with the domain owner to resolve the issue, preventing interruptions in email flow and maintaining sender reputation .

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Email deliverability

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What email deliverability services monitor DNS record changes and report back?

Matthew Whittaker

Co-founder & CTO, Suped

Published 3 Jun 2025

Updated 16 Aug 2025

4 min read

Managing email deliverability for a multitude of domains can be a complex task, especially when those domains belong to external entities. One of the most significant challenges is keeping track of changes to crucial DNS records like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Unannounced modifications or accidental deletions of these records can severely impact your email campaigns, leading to reduced inbox placement and potential blocklisting (or blacklisting).

While general DNS monitoring tools exist, they often lack the email-specific context needed to truly safeguard your email program. This is where specialized email deliverability services come into play, offering targeted monitoring and reporting for DNS records that directly affect your ability to reach the inbox.

The critical role of DNS in email deliverability

Email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are foundational to email deliverability. They exist as DNS TXT records, allowing receiving mail servers to verify that an incoming email is legitimate and authorized by the sending domain. Any misconfiguration or unexpected change to these records can cause emails to fail authentication checks, leading to them being flagged as spam or rejected entirely.

For instance, if a public DKIM key disappears from DNS, emails signed with that key will fail authentication, even if everything else is correctly configured. Similarly, a DMARC policy change from p=none to p=reject without proper alignment can suddenly cause legitimate emails to be rejected by recipient servers.

The silent impact of DNS changes

DNS record changes, particularly those affecting email authentication, can go unnoticed until they lead to severe deliverability issues. This often results in a sudden drop in inbox placement rates, increased bounce rates, and even an unexpected appearance on an email blocklist (or blacklist). Proactive monitoring is key to preventing these disruptions.

Here's an example of a DMARC record that could unexpectedly change or disappear:

Example DMARC DNS TXT recordDNS

_dmarc.yourdomain.com. IN TXT "v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:reports@yourdomain.com; ruf=mailto:forensics@yourdomain.com; fo=1; aspf=r; adkim=r"

The challenge of unannounced DNS changes

For organizations sending from many domains, such as educational institutions or large enterprises, manually checking DNS records across all properties is impractical and prone to human error. Even with a deep understanding of DNS, performing regular dig or nslookup commands for hundreds or thousands of records daily is simply not feasible.

While generic DNS monitoring tools like Pingdom or Site24x7 can alert on any DNS change, they are not specialized for email deliverability. They might notify you of a change, but they won't necessarily tell you if that change specifically impacts your email authentication or puts your domain at risk of being placed on a blacklist.

Manual monitoring

Time-consuming: Requires consistent manual checks across numerous domains.
Error-prone: High risk of overlooking critical changes or misinterpreting DNS data.
Reactive approach: Issues are often discovered only after deliverability problems arise.

Automated monitoring

Efficient: Automates checks across all domains, saving time and resources.
Accurate: Reduces human error and provides precise data on changes.
Proactive approach: Alerts enable quick intervention before major deliverability impact.

Specialized services for DNS deliverability monitoring

Several email deliverability services offer specialized monitoring of DNS records. These tools go beyond basic DNS checks, focusing on the records most relevant to email authentication and deliverability. They often include features for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC record validation, alongside monitoring for any unexpected changes.

DMARC monitoring services, in particular, are well-equipped to detect and report on DNS changes. Since DMARC relies on SPF and DKIM for alignment, a comprehensive DMARC monitoring solution will typically alert you if any of these underlying records are altered or removed. This provides a centralized view of your domain's email authentication health.

Service type	Key features	DNS records monitored
Generic DNS monitoring	Alerts on any DNS record change (A, CNAME, MX, TXT, etc.). Broad network monitoring.	All DNS record types.
DMARC monitoring services	Focus on email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) compliance, aggregate and forensic reports, policy enforcement. Alerts on related DNS changes.	Primarily SPF, DKIM, DMARC TXT records.

The value of a DMARC monitoring solution

DMARC monitoring services are not just about authentication, they are also a primary way to detect critical changes to your email DNS records. They provide detailed reports that highlight authentication failures, which often stem from misconfigured or missing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC records. This allows for immediate action to prevent deliverability issues, protecting your domain reputation and inbox placement.

Many of these services will send instant alerts via email or other channels (like Slack or SMS) when a significant DNS change is detected. This proactive notification is invaluable for large organizations that manage complex email sending infrastructures or rely on third-party domain owners to maintain their records. It ensures that any unapproved or accidental changes are caught and rectified quickly, minimizing impact on your email program.

Views from the trenches

Best practices

Always implement DMARC with reporting enabled (even at p=none) to gain visibility into email authentication status across all your sending domains.

Regularly review your DMARC aggregate reports, as they will flag authentication failures due to DNS issues.

Utilize a dedicated email deliverability platform that offers proactive DNS record monitoring for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC specifically.

Educate external domain owners or IT teams on the critical nature of email DNS records and the impact of unannounced changes.

Common pitfalls

Relying solely on generic DNS monitoring tools that don't provide email-specific insights or context.

Ignoring DMARC aggregate reports, missing early warning signs of DNS authentication failures.

Not having a clear process in place for managing DNS records for domains owned by third parties, leading to unannounced changes.

Assuming that once DNS records are set up, they will remain unchanged indefinitely.

Expert tips

Automate DNS health checks for all your sending domains. You can script DNS queries to regularly check SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records and alert on any discrepancies.

Focus on DMARC monitoring as a proxy for overall email authentication health. Many DMARC tools will surface issues related to SPF and DKIM records.

For complex multi-domain setups, consider a centralized DNS management system with change tracking and notification capabilities.

Regularly check for email server reputation and any blocklist (or blacklist) listings, as DNS issues can quickly lead to these problems.

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says they have a client in education sending from many institutional domains, and those institutions sometimes change DNS records like DMARC without warning, which causes major deliverability issues.

2023-06-08 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says they wish their previous ESP had a DNS monitoring solution to catch when a public DKIM key would disappear, as this was a recurring problem.

2023-06-08 - Email Geeks

The path to continuous deliverability

For any organization serious about email deliverability, especially those managing emails across multiple external domains, investing in a service that monitors DNS record changes is not optional—it's essential. This proactive approach helps maintain sender reputation, prevents unexpected deliverability issues, and ensures your messages consistently reach the inbox.

By leveraging specialized email deliverability platforms, you can gain peace of mind knowing that critical DNS authentication records are being continuously monitored, allowing you to react swiftly to any changes and protect your email program from disruption. This helps you to boost your email deliverability rates and minimize downtime.