No SPF record? You’re inviting spam filters to block your emails.
However, setting up SPF can seem rather technical.
That’s why we created this guide. After reading it, you will know:
And to make it even easier, we’ll also show you several tools to help you set up SPF faster and with fewer errors.
Before we continue, you need to know three things:
With that out of the way, here are the main steps to set up an SPF record:
Let’s go through each step in more detail. The steps below are general and should work with most DNS providers. But if you’re looking for specific instructions tailored to your email or domain provider, we have step-by-step tutorials for:
When setting up SPF, the first question that may come to your mind is:
What should my SPF record look like?
The answer is that it should include the sending servers of the services you use to send emails.
Sound complicated?
We created an SPF Record Generator to make the process much easier.
Just select the services you use and click on Generate SPF record:
After using the SPF Record Generator, it's still wise to double-check with your email provider(s).
Here’s a list of official SPF documentation for the providers above:
Your email service not on the list?
Google: “your email service” + SPF record
Having multiple SPF records can cause complications during authentication.
So, the first step to setting up an SPF is checking if there’s one already.
Here’s how you can check for an existing SPF record.
The general steps to set up or modify an SPF record are as follows:
In an ideal world, your SPF record would become active right after clicking the save button.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. In the worst cases, it can take up to three days for your SPF record to propagate fully.
Luckily, your record will usually become active in a few hours.
You can use Mailivery’s DNS Status meter to check the status of your record:
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Your record will be good to go if the status indicator turns green.
You can try Mailivery for free for 7 days.
Alternatively, you can use a tool like MXToolbox to validate your record.
Waited a couple of days, and your SPF record still isn’t working?
Here are some of the most common SPF errors:
As mentioned earlier, your domain cannot have multiple SPF records.
Return to your domain’s DNS record and double-check that there aren’t multiple TXT records starting with v=spf1.
Found multiple SPF records? Combine them into a single record.
Here’s how:
Let’s say that you found the following two SPF records:
The simple way to combine them is by taking the includes (or ip4/6 tags if the servers are IP numbers and not a domain) of one record and adding them to the other record.
The combined record should now look like this:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all
SPF has a DNS lookup limit of ten.
If you include any sending server under the sun, not only will your security be weaker, but it also means your record may hit that limit.
The simplest solution is to remove any email service you no longer use. Just remove the corresponding include or ip4/6 tags and save your record.
The SPF record’s syntax must be precisely correct for the record to work.
This means that something as simple as a redundant space can render your record useless.
Fortunately, it’s easy to check your record’s syntax. Use Mailivery’s free SPF Syntax Checker below to ensure your record’s syntax is correct:
Some tags that were once valid in SPF records are now deprecated or no longer recommended.
If you use them in your SPF record, it will not work.
Some of these tags are:
The all mechanism suggests what to do with emails that fail SPF authentication.
The most common all policy settings are:
Without an all tag, your SPF record won’t function correctly. It won’t return a definitive result. Consequently, the mail servers will treat it as neutral, depending on server policy.
You came to this post to set up your SPF record. That’s why we gave you the relevant steps to do so first.
It’s now time to give some background information on what SPF is and how it works.
SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework, an email authentication protocol designed to combat email spoofing.
Wonder what email spoofing is?
Email spoofing is when someone sends an email that looks like it's from a trusted sender, like your company or another trusted domain, but it’s actually fake.
So, how does SPF combat email spoofing?
It lets you decide what sending servers can send from your domain.
Let's say you connect your Google Workspace account to a cold email tool, and your domain is set up to send and receive emails through Google Workspace; then, you must authorize Google to send emails on behalf of your domain.
If you don’t authorize Google’s sending servers, your emails will fail SPF authentication and likely land in the spam folder.
While an SPF record may look like a random line of code, it actually consists of mechanisms (tags), each serving a specific function.
Let’s quickly discuss the most commonly used SPF mechanisms.
Here’s an example of a simple SPF record:
v=spf1 include:mailgun.org ~all
A correctly configured SPF record makes your emails more secure and gives you better open rates.
Why does SPF improve inbox placement?
Email providers see that your emails are harder to spoof and reward you by delivering more of your emails to your prospects’ inboxes.
With SPF set up, more people will read your emails, potentially leading to more revenue for your business.
For the full lowdown on the benefits of SPF, read: Why an SPF record is important (and how it can save you from the spam folder)
Setting up SPF is an essential step toward reaching your prospect’s inbox.
But SPF alone is not enough.
To have the best chance of landing in the inbox and thus converting your prospects, you must also set up:
Still confused by this whole SPF thing? This short guide breaks down what SPF stands for in email (not sunscreen:-), in plain English.
After setting up your domain’s email authentication records, it’s time to warm up your email.
Email warm-up is the process of slowly increasing the number and frequency of the emails you send.
Why is email warm-up important?
It helps build up your sender reputation. You see, if you have a new sending domain, you can’t just start blasting tens of emails per day.
Email service providers do not recognize your domain as a trusted sender yet.
This is where email warm-up comes in. Email warm-up slowly establishes your sender reputation automatically.
Mailivery is an AI-powered email warm-up and deliverability tool designed to enhance your sender reputation and ensure your emails land in the primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
You can try Mailivery’s Starter plan free for 7 days.
The easiest way to get responses to your cold emails.
