February 2024 Google and Yahoo’s New Sender Requirements – Everything You Need to Know

You may have already heard that Google and Yahoo are introducing new sender requirements, if you have no idea what we’re talking about, then fear not. Below we’ve outlined everything you need to know and implement before February 2024 to reduce the impact of these updates on your email marketing performance. 

So who will be impacted by the new requirements? 

Everyone… there’s no escaping this one. If you carry out email marketing on behalf of your brand, this is something that’s going to affect you. 

But what if I don’t change anything? 

If you don’t make changes to meet the new requirements, you’ll start experiencing deliverability issues with emails sent to Google and Yahoo addresses. According to MailButler Gmail holds 27.21% of the email client market share, so if you don’t want to see your beautifully curated email campaigns land in the spam folder and your performance metrics fall off the face of the earth, you’re going to want to continue reading. 

What are the new requirements? 

1. Set up DMARC authentication for your sending domain

‍DMARC authentication is a protocol policy that servers use to make sure emails are coming from a legitimate sender. DMARC authentication is set up in your DNS provider (like GoDaddy or Cloudflare) and the reports allow you to monitor the email messages sent using your domain, helping to protect you against spoofing and phishing.

2. Align your “From:” header with your domain

You’re no longer going to be able to use a shared sending domain, you’ll need to create your own branded sending domain (also known as a dedicated sending domain), this will give you better control over your sender reputation, and help you meet all the new requirements. Often next to the friendly “from”, consumers will see a sent “via [your chosen email service provider .com” disclaimer. For example, sent “via klaviyomail.com”, which indicates a shared sending domain. 

Once you’ve set up your branded sending domain, the friendly “from” header (what your subscribers see in their inbox) will need to align with the root domain to be compliant with DMARC alignment. 

For example, if your branded sending domain is send.peakydigital.co.uk, the root domain would be peakydigital.co.uk. Therefore, using hello@peakydigital.co.uk as your “from” address would be in alignment with the root domain.

3. Allow a one-step unsubscribe & keep spam rates low

One of the new sender requirements is that every email must include a one-click unsubscribe link. The good news? If you use Klaviyo, they’re taking care of this for you. To help every user meet this new requirement, Klaviyo will automatically add a one-click unsubscribe link to the header of every email. If you’re not using Klaviyo, you’ll need to check the conditions of your email service provider. 

Keeping spam complaints low has always been best practice for marketers, so this one shouldn’t come as a surprise. Low spam complaints are a key way to show inbox providers that you are a legitimate sender who follows deliverability best practices. 

Are there any other new requirements?

There are also a handful of new requirements that, if you’re using Klaviyo, you don’t need to worry about, as they’ve already taken care of them for you. But, if you’re using any other email management software, you’ll need to check the specific actions they’re taking to comply with these new requirements. 

These are:

Setting up SPF and DKIM email authentication for your domain

Ensuring your sending domain and IP have valid forward and reverse DNS records

Formatting messages according to the Internet Messaging Format standard

Have further questions?

These requirements may seem unnecessary, and “just another one of Google’s updates”, but once implemented they will provide the opportunity to positively impact your reputation as a sender and build valuable relationships with your customers through improved email deliverability. 

If you have any questions about the new sender requirements and the steps you need to take to ensure you meet them, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of specialists. We have a dedicated email marketing team on hand to support.