In February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo are changing their email rules, making DKIM and DMARC authentication mandatory. Digital Marketing Hub (DMH) strongly advises all senders to establish DKIM and DMARC authentication for enhanced security and compliance.
When you send emails, mailbox providers, like Gmail or Outlook, must determine whether the message is a valid email sent by the owner of the email address or a forged email sent by a spammer or phisher. Setting up the DKIM is one of the established methods for verifying the identity of a sender.
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is basically a signature that any sender can add to their email messages. Setting up the DKIM for your sending domain will help email providers confirm that the message is from you and not a phishing scam. As a bonus, this will also remove the “sent on behalf of” text in your message header.
Note that, while it is not required, we strongly recommend that you enable authentication on your sending domain.
We have updated our DKIM process from TXT records to CNAME records. If you set up your DKIM before February 23, 2023, your TXT records will still work and remain valid. However, we recommend setting up your DKIM with the following CNAME records instructions since it is more secure.
Here are the steps on how to set up the DKIM:
Log in to your ActiveCampaign account, then click Settings on the left menu, then click Advance.
Click the "I will manage my own email authentication" option.
We will generate two CNAME records. Please set up both CNAME records in the DNS provider for your domain. This process will vary slightly based on your DNS provider, but you can find a set of instructions for GoDaddy here.
Once you have set up both CNAME records in your DNS provider, return to ActiveCampaign and go to Settings > Advanced. Then, click “Check DNS” to verify that you have set up your DNS records correctly.
After setting up your DNS records correctly for all your From address domains, click “Save Settings” at the top of the page.
Note that sending emails from several domains requires setting up each domain with the proper DNS records for DKIM.
As a reminder, DNS record propagation can take several hours. If it doesn't appear to be working right away, wait a few hours and try again.
Troubleshooting DKIM error messages
Below are some potential error messages you may encounter while configuring DKIM, along with suggestions on how to resolve them:
“Your domain is set up with DKIM with the legacy TXT record at dk._domainkey.activecampaign.com. This method will work, but we recommend that you set up CNAME records instead, which are more secure.”
Digital Marketing Hub updated its DKIM configuration from TXT records to CNAME records on February 23, 2032. If you had previously set up DKIM with a TXT record before February 23, 2023, this error message may appear. While your current setup will continue to work, it is advisable to transition to the CNAME record for enhanced security.
“Please enter a valid domain name (e.g.mydomain.com) to generate your DNS record.”
The domain name entered is invalid. Please double-check the accuracy of your domain URL and ensure there are no typographical errors.
“Your DNS records are not set up correctly.”
This error message indicates that your DNS records are not properly set up with your DNS provider. Review your DNS records for any typos or errors. Ensure that you are modifying the DNS settings in the correct location. For example, your domain may be registered with GoDaddy, while DNS management is handled through Cloudflare. If these steps do not resolve the issue, contact your DNS provider for further assistance in troubleshooting and configuring CNAME records.
“Only one of your CNAME records is set up. Please check your DNS records for typos.”
This message implies that one of your DNS records is not correctly configured with your DNS provider. Make sure you have both CNAME records generated by Digital Marketing Hub properly set up in your DNS provider's settings. If both records are in place, check your DNS records for any typographical errors or other issues. If the problem persists, reach out to your DNS provider for guidance in resolving the problem and setting up CNAME records.