Google and Yahoo are in their (IP) Reputation era. Keep reading to learn more about what’s required and how we’re supporting our nonprofit clients to move forward.
Introduction
In early October, Google and Yahoo announced new requirements for bulk email senders to reduce spam and increase subscriber protection. By February 1, 2024, bulk email senders (those who send more than 5,000 messages in one day) will be required to:
Authenticate email
Enable easy (one-click) unsubscription
Only send emails users want
Google and Yahoo are the two biggest providers of free email inboxes in the US, covering domains including @gmail.com, @yahoo.com, @aol.com, @verizon.com, etc. If these look familiar, it’s likely because they make up 50-75% of your organization’s email list. Adhering to these new standards will provide senders (aka YOU) with a consistent reputation for their domain, ensuring that subscribers continue to see, open, and engage with their emails.
What is Email Deliverability?
Put simply, email deliverability is the ability of an email to be delivered – that is, arrive in the subscriber’s main email inbox. Typically this is measured by deliverability rate, the percentage of emails sent that are accepted by the inbox service provider (ISP). Deliverability failure happens when an email is blocked by the ISP or is delivered to the spam folder.
Deliverability is arguably the most important metric for your email program, because, of course, your email can’t be opened or clicked unless it is delivered first. Low deliverability scores can result in high bounces, low engagement, or flagging spam filters.
There are many factors that impact email deliverability, including sender validation, IP reputation, image-heavy email design, spammy subject lines, unclear unsubscription options, and high volumes of messages to unengaged subscribers. The standards introduced by Google and Yahoo aim to combat a few of these issues to ensure that subscribers are receiving only emails they actually want to receive.
What Are the New Requirements?
#1 Email Authentication
Email authentication really boils down to sender validation. In other words, are you actually who you say you are?
Beginning in February, Google and Yahoo will require email senders to establish three different ways a recipient can authenticate an email: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. Each of these is done by updating specific records in DNS.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Publish valid SPF records, which allow a sender to specify the list of IP addresses that are allowed to send mail for that domain.
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail): Authenticate every email with DKIM, which creates a signature of the content of the message that the ISP (in this case Yahoo or Google) can use to verify that the content of the message has not been changed during transmission.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Enable a DMARC policy that allows a sender to verify that their messages are, in fact, protected by DKIM and/or SPF, and tells a receiver what to do if neither of those authentication methods passes.
SPF and DKIM authentication have been a best practice for several years, and your organization more than likely already has these set up. DMARC has been considered optional, but as of February 1, will be required.
Additional Authentication:
While your organization likely already has the below in place, these are also requirements Google and Yahoo will be looking to validate.
Sender alignment with either SPF or DKIM domain. In other words, ensure your “from” address matches your domain name, and be sure you’re not using a free domain (i.e., hotmail, yahoo, gmail) to send bulk email. Under revised DMARC policies, ISPs will automatically mark your emails as spam if you send commercial or bulk email to an email address at their domain, from the same domain.
Ensure that email senders publish valid forward and reverse DNS records, also referred to as PTR records. Said differently, ensure your IP address translates back to your domain name.
Format messages according to the Internet Message Format standard (RFC 5322). These standards have been in place since 2008, so you are more than likely covered there!
#2 Easy (One-Click) Unsubscription
You’ve probably seen this in your own inbox – a one-click “Unsubscribe” next to the sender name, also known as a list-unsubscribe header. This is a tiny bit of code that goes into the header of your emails, which instructs the ISP how to include an unsubscribe option in their own inbox controls. In addition, Google and Yahoo will be requiring that unsubscribes be processed within a two-day window.
# 3 Only Send Email Users Want
Finally, Google and Yahoo announced that they want to keep user-reported spam rates below 0.3%. In addition to implementing the requirements above, here are some deliverability best practices to follow to ensure you’re keeping your spam-rates in check.
List hygiene. A smaller, but more active list ensures engaged subscribers who are more likely to open and click on your emails. Weeding out inactive users, paying close attention to new subscribers, and regularly re-engaging those on file can keep your engagement rates high and your spam rates low.
Monitor the volume of your sends. Consider segmenting your audience to ensure subscribers are receiving content that’s relevant to them. Introducing a preference center within your CRM can help users self-identify what types of content they’d like to receive. Avoid list purchases and pay special attention to welcoming new users to the file.
Avoid URL shorteners, which can be flagged as phishing.
Pay attention to subject lines. Run your subject lines through a subject line tester to avoid using spam-triggering words or styles.
So, What’s Next?
First things first: Coordinate with your internal stakeholders to review your organization’s existing configurations and make any necessary updates by February 1. From there, review your email processes and evaluate where you might be able to make changes that will improve your deliverability. Regularly checking your settings and adhering to industry standards ensures your constituents not only see your email, but open it, click it, and take the action you want.
At Streetlight Digital, we’ve helped nonprofits transform from lackluster email fundraising results to an overflow of support because an email campaign simply reached the right audience at the right time. Contact us if you’re looking for similar results.