Email marketing is a key part of most digital strategies, but some aspects of it, like DMARC, might seem overly technical or outside the marketer’s realm. The truth is, understanding DMARC plays an important role in making sure your emails actually reach your audience’s inboxes.
What is DMARC?
DMARC, which stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance, is a security tool for your company’s email domain. Think of it as a way to protect your domain from being misused. It ensures people can trust that an email claiming to be from your company is actually from you and not someone pretending to be you.
With DMARC, you can set up rules about how emails from your domain should be verified. These rules also tell email servers what to do with messages that don’t pass the test, whether to block them, flag them, or let them through.
Why is this importantr? Verifying your emails helps stop cybercrimes like phishing and spoofing, where scammers may use your domain to trick others. It also reassures your customers that emails from you are legit.
Here’s what DMARC helps you do:
Show how your emails should be verified.
Decide what happens to emails that fail the checks.
Get reports on how emails pretending to be from your domain are handled.
When you set up DMARC, it protects your brand by:
Giving you detailed reports on email activity.
Reducing phishing and spoofing attempts.
Helping recipients confirm whether an email is really from you.
How Does DMARC Work?
DMARC works by combining two existing tools,SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) to verify emails. It also uses your domain’s DNS (Domain Name System) to enforce the rules you set.
Here’s how it works step-by-step:
Setting the Rules
First, you add a DMARC policy to your DNS. This policy tells receiving email servers how to check your emails and what to do with ones that don’t pass. For example, you could say, “Reject emails that fail the check” or “Just flag them.”
Checking Emails
When someone receives an email from your domain, their email server looks up your DMARC policy in your DNS. Then it checks a few things:
Does the email’s DKIM signature match what’s expected?
Is the email sent from an IP address allowed by your SPF records?
Do the email headers match your domain (alignment)?
Taking Action
Based on your DMARC policy, the receiving server decides what to do. It might accept the email, reject it, or mark it as suspicious.
Sending Reports
After processing, the server sends you a report on what happened. This helps you see if someone is trying to misuse your domain or if there are issues with your legitimate emails.
With DMARC in place, you get a clearer picture of who’s sending emails using your domain. You’ll know if someone’s sending fake emails, and you can stop them before they harm your customers or your reputation.
What is a DMARC Record?
A DMARC record is essentially a set of rules that tells email systems how to handle messages sent from your domain. You’re leaving instructions for email receivers, such as Gmail, Yahoo, or Microsoft so they know what to do when they get an email that claims to be from your company.
The record includes important details like:
Your company’s DMARC policy: Outlines how emails should be verified and what to do with ones that fail the checks.
DNS entry information: Ties the DMARC setup to your domain.
In short, the DMARC record is what prevents others from using your domain name without permission, protecting your brand and your customers.
How Does a DMARC Record Work?
DMARC records are stored as TXT records in your DNS, under a special name: _dmarc.yourdomain.com. Before you can set up a DMARC record, you need to have SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records in place.
When you add a DMARC record, it communicates with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft to let them know:
That your domain uses DMARC.
How emails from your domain should be handled if they don’t meet the rules.
What’s Inside a DMARC Record?
DMARC records are made up of tags, specific pieces of information that define your rules. Here are some of the most common tags you might see:
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These tags let you customize how DMARC works for your domain. For example, you can decide if only some emails undergo filtering, where reports are sent, or how strict you want the verification to be.
DMARC records are the backbone of your email authentication system. They let you take control of your domain’s email activity and help keep scammers at bay. Setting one up might sound technical, but it’s a key step in keeping your emails and your reputation secure.
What is DMARC Domain Alignment?
Domain alignment is a key part of DMARC that helps confirm whether an email is truly from the sender it claims to be. It focuses on matching the domain in the “From” header of the email with other authentication details to verify the sender’s identity.
Here’s how it works: DMARC uses SPF and DKIM (two email authentication methods) to check if the sender is legitimate. However, SPF and DKIM don’t always require that the domain in the “From” header matches the domain used for authentication. That’s where alignment comes in, it ensures the domains match and prevents spoofing.
How Does Domain Alignment Work?
Domain alignment means the domains in key parts of the email must match. It can apply to either DKIM or SPF, and here’s what it checks for each:
DKIM Alignment: The domain in the DKIM signature (d=domain) must match the domain in the “From” header.
SPF Alignment: The domain in the Return-Path must match the domain in the “From” header.
Types of DMARC Alignment
There are two types of alignment, depending on how strict you want the checks to be:
Relaxed Alignment:
The base domains (e.g., example.com) must match, but subdomains can be different (e.g., mail.example.com and example.com would pass).
Strict Alignment:
The entire domain, including subdomains, must match exactly (e.g., mail.example.com and example.com would not pass).
Your DMARC policy lets you choose between these two options.
Why Does Domain Alignment Matter?
Alignment ensures that the domain in the “From” header matches either the DKIM or SPF domain. This is crucial for validating the source of an email and preventing unauthorized use of your domain.
In simple terms, domain alignment makes sure that emails claiming to be from your domain are actually from you and not from scammers trying to impersonate your brand. It’s a vital part of DMARC’s ability to protect your email reputation and keep phishing attempts at bay.
What Are DMARC p= Policies?
DMARC p= policies tell email providers what to do when an email fails DMARC’s authentication checks. There are three policies you can choose from, depending on how strict you want to be:
p=none (Monitoring Only)
This is the most lenient policy. When you set p=none, it means DMARC won’t take any action against emails that fail the check. Instead, it will treat them as if no DMARC policy is in place.
Here’s what it does:
Email providers send reports about failed emails to the addresses you specify in your DMARC record (using the RUA or RUF tags).
It gives you information about where those emails are coming from, but it doesn’t block or filter them.
This policy is great for monitoring how your domain is being used before implementing stricter rules. However, it doesn’t actively stop phishing or spoofing attempts.
p=quarantine (Send to Spam)
With this policy, emails that fail the DMARC check are sent to the recipient’s spam folder instead of their inbox. Emails that pass the check go to the primary inbox as usual.
Why choose this?
It’s a safer option than p=none because it reduces the chances of failed emails being seen by recipients.
However, since many people rarely check their spam folder, the failed emails might still go unnoticed.
p=reject (Block the Email)
This is the strictest policy. If an email fails the DMARC check, it’s outright rejected and never delivered to the recipient. The rejection happens at the SMTP level (the email server).
Why is this the most effective?
It stops phishing, spoofing, and scams right in their tracks.
It protects your customers from malicious emails and safeguards your brand from abuse.
It can also block threats like ransomware, malware, and spear-phishing attempts.
Why Do DMARC Policies Matter?
Implementing a DMARC policy, especially p=reject, can greatly reduce risks for your business. It prevents scammers from using your domain to trick people, protects your reputation, and ensures your customers and employees are safe from phishing and fraud attempts.
If you’re just starting, p=none is a good way to monitor your domain activity. Once you’re confident in your setup, you can move to p=quarantine or p=reject for stronger protection.
What is a DMARC Report?
A DMARC report is a key feature of DMARC that gives domain owners insight into the email activity associated with their domain. It helps you understand whether emails sent from your domain are properly authenticated and if anyone is trying to misuse it.
DMARC reports come in two types:
Forensic Reports
These reports focus on individual emails that fail DMARC authentication.
They provide a detailed look at failed messages, including full copies of emails in a format called AFRF (Aggregate Feedback Reporting Format).
Forensic reports are incredibly helpful for spotting problematic sources, like suspicious websites or unauthorized domains sending emails on your behalf.
These are like your detective reports, they’re great for identifying where bad emails are coming from.
Aggregate Reports
These reports give a big-picture view of your domain’s email activity.
They show summary data about all messages sent from your domain, including how many passed or failed authentication and where they came from.
Unlike forensic reports, these are not meant to be read by humans. Instead, machines or specialized tools process them to give you actionable insights.
Aggregate reports are like your dashboard, providing an overview of what’s happening with your domain’s emails.
Is DMARC Necessary for Your Business?
If your business sends emails, whether it’s transactional emails like order confirmations or subscription emails like newsletters, then yes, you need DMARC. It helps verify that emails claiming to be from your business are legitimate and stops cybercriminals from hijacking your domain for scams.
Unfortunately, cybercrime isn’t going away. Hackers continue to find ways to exploit businesses, causing serious damage. DMARC gives you a way to protect your company and your customers from these kinds of attacks.
When you set up DMARC on your email server, it allows receiving mail servers (like Gmail or Yahoo) to confirm if an email truly came from your domain. This prevents bad actors from using your business name to send fake emails or commit fraud.
In short, DMARC is a must-have for any business that wants to safeguard its reputation. It’s a simple step that can make a big difference in protecting your brand and your customers.
SO, WHERE DO YOU FIND THIS PARTNER?
Well, aren’t we glad you asked! We at DigiCom are obsessive data-driven marketers pulling from multi-disciplinary strategies to unlock scale. We buy media across all platforms and placements and provide creative solutions alongside content creation, and conversion rate optimizations. We pride ourselves on your successes and will stop at nothing to help you grow.
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