Google and Yahoo have recently rolled out significant updates to how they handle email deliveries. These changes involved the implementation of authentication requirements and spam prevention changes, which are set to take effect in February 2024. This shift is all about making the inbox more secure and improving the overall email experience.
Failure to implement these new requirements may result in potential repercussions for email senders, such as elevated bounce rates leading to delayed or non-delivery of emails, or emails being diverted to designated bulk folders.
Note: These changes do not impact customers who already have DKIM and DMARC set up.
Who is impacted by these changes?
These new requirements impact all senders, regardless of size, with a more noticeable impact on deliverability for "bulk" senders. Note, this does not impact 1:1 email sending via the platform's direct or automated 1:1 sales emails.
Gmail defines a bulk sender as someone sending around 5,000 or more emails to personal Gmail accounts within a 24-hour period. It's important to note that all messages from the same primary domain contribute to the 5,000 limit.
In the case of Yahoo, a bulk sender is classified as an email sender dealing with a substantial volume of mail, though Yahoo does not specify a particular volume threshold.
What you need to do: New Authentication Requirements
Transition to your own domain: To align with upcoming email authentication and spam prevention changes, it’s vital to discontinue the use of @gmail.com / @yahoo.com addresses in the sender’s email. Transitioning to a domain you own is strongly advised for seamlessly setting up authentication and complying with evolving standards. For customers without a current domain, acquiring one promptly is recommended.
Keep your spam complaints low: Ensure that spam rates, as reported in Postmaster Tools, stay below 0.10%, and take preventive measures to avoid surpassing a spam rate of 0.30% or higher.
What happens if you don’t meet the new requirements?
Google and Yahoo will begin blocking emails that don’t meet their requirements, likely in the form of a specific bounce response for those messages that could lead to more permanent blocks on specific IPs or domains.
This can damage reputation and have long-term consequences on deliverability rate, impacting directly customer engagement and email marketing-generated revenue.
Learn more on how to set up your authentication here:
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