With Gmail and Yahoo's upcoming changes regarding email sender requirements, domain authentication is mandatory for all senders since February 1, 2024.
Authenticating your domain can increase the likelihood of your emails being delivered to recipients' inboxes rather than ending up in the spam folder. It also proves that the emails you send through PushOwl Email (powered by Brevo) are legitimate and from your business, which allows you to maintain a good online reputation.
In this article, we will guide you through the following steps to authenticate your domain:
Add your domain during email onboarding.
Copy the Brevo code, DKIM record and DMARC record to your domain host.
Verify whether your domain is authenticated.
Before you start
Some steps of this process occur directly within your domain host account, separate from PushOwl, so make sure you have access to your domain host account. If you're unsure what your domain host is, check out this article to Identify your domain host.
Please note that we will guide you through authorising your domain during the email onboarding. This documentation is only applicable if you have skipped that step.
You can verify if you have skipped the step by clicking on Email in the left navigation menu.
Step 1. Add your domain
To authenticate your domain, you first need to add your domain to PushOwl. This is also a mandatory step during our email onboarding:
Click on Email in the left navigation menu.
Click on Authorise domain button on the Finish domain authorisation card.
In the Enter your email domain field, enter the domain you want to use to sign your emails. Typically, this is the domain associated with your website.
Click on Authorise
The values that you need to authenticate your domain are displayed (Brevo code, DKIM record).
Make sure you keep this page open, as you will need to refer back to it in order to copy these values from PushOwl to your domain host.
Step 2. Copy the values to your domain host (Brevo code, DKIM record, DMARC record)
You'll need to copy and paste these values into specific fields called "DNS records" in your domain host account. Some steps of this process occur directly within your domain host account, separate from PushOwl.
For step by step instructions on adding these values to your domain host, please find instructions on this document.
Step 3. Verify if your domain is authenticated.
On the PushOwl dashboard, click on the button Check Configuration.
That's it! Your domain is authenticated.
FAQs
Which domain should I authenticate ?
You should authenticate the domain or subdomain that you use for sending emails through PushOwl Email (powered by Brevo). For example, if you use the email address "newsletter@thegreenyoga.com" to send your emails, you should authenticate the domain "thegreenyoga.com". If you use multiple domains or subdomains to send emails, you should authenticate each one of them.
I have added the values to my domain but it still appears as unauthenticated. What should I do ?
Once you have added the values to your domain host, make sure you verify that your domain is authenticated by clicking the Authenticate this email domain button as explained in Step 3: Verify if your domain is authenticated.
Note that it can take up to 48 hours for the changes to take full effect.
My domain still isn't authenticated after 48 hours. What should I do ?
If your domain still isn't authenticated after 48 hours, you can check this troubleshooting article Troubleshooting - Domain authentication for solutions to common issues or contact our support team and include a screenshot of the DNS records you have added to your domain host.
For domain host-specific requirements, we recommend you reach out to your domain host's support team.
Can I modify or delete the DNS records from my domain host once it is authenticated ?
To ensure your emails are correctly sent, keep these two DNS records as they are in your domain host as long as you are using PushOwl Email (powered by Brevo) to send emails. Modifying or deleting these DNS records may lead to email delivery problems or your emails being marked as spam.