UpViral

ABOUT THE NEW GOOGLE VERIFICATION PROCESS:

The new Google verification process represent a more stringent set of email sender guidelines from Gmail, targeting bulk senders (those sending 5,000 or more emails per day to Gmail accounts). Here's a summary of the impact and key points:

Impact:

• Improved Email Experience for Gmail Users: These guidelines aim to protect Gmail users from unwanted or spammy emails by requiring senders to follow best practices for authentication, subscription management, and message formatting.

• Increased Burden for Bulk Senders: Bulk senders now need to comply with stricter requirements, including mandatory email authentication, one-click unsubscribe options, and maintaining low spam complaint rates. Failure to comply could result in delivery limitations or even blocking of messages.

Key Points:

• Mandatory Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are now compulsory for bulk senders to ensure email legitimacy and prevent spoofing.

• One-Click Unsubscribe: All marketing and subscribed messages must offer recipients a simple way to unsubscribe with a single click.

• Spam Rate Thresholds: Bulk senders need to keep their spam complaint rates below 0.1% and avoid reaching 0.3% to maintain good deliverability.

• Message Formatting Standards: Messages should adhere to internet format and HTML standards, avoiding hidden content or misleading practices.

• General Best Practices: Sending from shared IPs with good reputations, avoiding sudden volume spikes, and regularly monitoring sender reputation are crucial.
  
  

These email sender guidelines are primarily for bulk senders, but some elements, like unsubscribe options and message formatting, apply to all senders to Gmail. By following these guidelines, bulk senders can ensure their emails reach intended recipients and avoid causing spam issues for Gmail users.

The new Google email sender guidelines for bulk senders have the potential to affect your Upviral viral campaign, but the extent and direction of the impact depend on several factors. Here's a breakdown:

Potential Challenges and Effects on your Upviral Campaign

• Reduced Reach and Deliverability: If your campaign emails don't comply with the stricter requirements (authentication, unsubscribe options, etc.), they might land in spam folders or even get blocked, hindering your campaign's reach and engagement.

• Increased Unsubscribes: The one-click unsubscribe feature makes opting out easier, potentially leading to higher unsubscribe rates during your campaign.

• Lower Conversion Rates: Lower reach and engagement due to deliverability and unsubscribe issues could ultimately impact your campaign's conversion rates.
  
  

Fixes and Improvements

Here's how you can navigate these challenges and potentially even benefit from the changes:

1. Authentication: Ensure your Upviral account and sending domains are properly set up with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email authentication. This boosts your legitimacy in Google's eyes and improves deliverability.
   
   

2. One-Click Unsubscribe: Integrate the one-click unsubscribe option into all your campaign emails. This demonstrates compliance and allows interested recipients to stay engaged while providing an easy opt-out for unengaged ones.
   
   

3. Spam Rate Monitoring: Use Postmaster Tools to track your campaign's spam complaint rate. If it rises, analyze the reasons and adjust your content, sending practices, or targeting audience to reduce spam reports.
   
   

4. Content and Formatting: Review your campaign email content and format to ensure they comply with the new guidelines (no misleading subject lines, hidden content, etc.). High-quality and relevant content generally leads to lower spam complaints.
   
   

5. Targeted Sending: Focus on sending your campaign emails to genuinely interested users. Upviral's targeting features can help you avoid spamming irrelevant recipients, reducing unsubscribe rates and improving engagement.
   
   

6. Stay Updated: Keep yourself informed about any further changes in Google's sender guidelines and adapt your practices accordingly to maintain optimal campaign performance.
   
   

By taking these steps, you can mitigate the potential negative impacts of the new guidelines and even leverage them to improve your campaign's overall reach, engagement, and effectiveness. Remember, building trust and providing value to your target audience is always key to running successful viral campaigns, regardless of the specific delivery platform or spam filtering rules.

What is MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC & Forwarding?

Ensure your sending domains are properly set up with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email authentication. This boosts your legitimacy in Google's eyes and improves deliverability.

• MX record: Think of an MX record as a map for your email. It tells mail servers where to deliver your emails. It's like the address on your envelope,

• SPF record: SPF stands for "Sender Policy Framework." It acts as a security guard, verifying if the sender of an email is authorized to use your domain. Imagine SPF as a list of trusted senders allowed to use your company's email address. Any unrecognized sender gets flagged, preventing spoofing and phishing attempts.

• DKIM record: DKIM stands for "DomainKeys Identified Mail." It's like a digital signature for your emails, ensuring they haven't been tampered with during delivery. Think of DKIM as a hidden watermark on your emails, proving their authenticity and preventing content manipulation.

• DMARC record: DMARC stands for "Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance." It's the team leader, telling receiving mail servers what to do with emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks. DMARC can instruct servers to quarantine, reject, or report suspicious emails, protecting your reputation and preventing spam.

By working together, MX, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC create a secure email delivery system, protecting you from spam, phishing, and spoofing attempts. Setting up these records might seem technical, but many email providers offer easy-to-use tools to configure them.

Remember, these records are like digital bodyguards for your email, ensuring it reaches the right people and stays safe from harm

Here is how to set it up:

• Set up your MX record

  1. For Postmark, please follow this link

  2. For Amazon SES, please follow link

  3. For SendGrid, please follow this link

  4. For Google Workspace, please follow this link

  5. For Microsoft Office 365, please follow this link
     
     

• Set up your SPF record

  1. For Postmark, please follow this link

  2. For Amazon SES, please follow link

  3. For SendGrid, please follow this link

  4. For Google/GSuite , please follow this link

  5. For Microsoft Office 365, please follow this link
     
     

Additional Note:

You can easily verify if your SPF record is set up correctly using a free online tool like MX Toolbox. Simply enter your domain name in the "SPF Record Check" tool and click "Check." You'll receive a report detailing any errors or inconsistencies, along with helpful suggestions for improvement.

• Set up your DKIM record

  1. For Postmark, please follow this link

  2. For Amazon SES, please follow link

  3. For SendGrid, please follow this link

  4. For Google/GSuite , please follow this link

  5. For Microsoft Office 365, please follow this link
     
     

Additional Note:

For verifying your DKIM record setup, EasyDMARC offers a handy free tool. Simply navigate to their DKIM Checker, enter your domain name, and click "Check." You'll get a detailed report on your DKIM key configuration, highlighting any errors or potential improvements.

• Set up your DMARC record

1. You can leverage a dedicated DMARC provider like Postmark for a comprehensive solution

2. You can also use Amazon SES, please follow this link

3. For SendGrid, please follow this link

4. For Google Workspace users, setting up DMARC is straightforward with this helpful guide

Important: Prior to DMARC implementation, verify that DKIM and SPF have been configured and operational for a minimum of 48 hours. This guarantees thorough sender authentication and optimizes DMARC's effectiveness.

Ensuring your DMARC configuration is accurate is crucial for optimal email security and policy enforcement. You can leverage EasyDMARC or other tools to confidently validate your settings.

• Set up Forwarding (optional)

To ensure all communication reaches your central hub, be sure to configure forwarding for your new domains. This simple setup can be completed within your domain provider's settings.

1. For Postmark users, please follow this link

2. For SendGrid users, please follow this link

3. For GoDaddy users, please follow this link

For specific steps on setting up MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and forwarding with GoDaddy, NameCheap, Google Domains, BlueHost, Domain.com, Enom, Network Solutions, Host Gator, or Register.com, please follow this link [link for the next article]

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