Ensuring Compliance: Adapting to Google and Yahoo's 2024 Email Sending Standards

Starting in February 2024, email senders targeting Google and Yahoo users must adhere to new regulations involving email authentication, consent, and engagement. If these rules are not followed, emails risk being delayed, blocked, or flagged as spam. While this may seem like a major shift, these practices have long been seen as essential for ensuring reliable email delivery.

Prepare Your Account: Steps to Meet Google and Yahoo’s New Standards

Follow these steps to ensure compliance with the new requirements for bulk email senders.

1. Strengthen Your Brand with a Dedicated Sending Sub-Domain

Create a branded sending sub-domain to improve your sender reputation and elevate your inbox branding. This will also eliminate the “sent via msgsndr.com” message, ensuring a more professional appearance. Starting in February, this is a must-have for bulk senders reaching Google and Yahoo users.

After setting up a branded sending sub-domain, a warm-up period of 2–4 weeks for your sending infrastructure may be necessary.

For more details, explore our step-by-step guide on setting up a branded sending sub-domain.

Example of a Branded Sending Domain in Gmail: 

2. Implement DMARC for Secure Email Authentication

What is DMARC?
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is a protocol that works in conjunction with SPF and DKIM to provide email authentication. It helps mailbox providers determine how to handle emails that fail these checks, preventing spoofing and ensuring legitimacy.

Steps to Set Up DMARC:

• Step 1: Use a free tool like Dmarcian to check if your domain already has a DMARC record.

• Step 2: If no record exists, access your DNS hosting provider and create a new TXT record.

• Step 3: Set the Host/Name field to "_DMARC" and input the following in the Content field: v=DMARC1; p=none;.

• Step 4: Save the record and use Dmarcian to verify successful implementation.

Example of a DMARC Record Setup in Cloudflare: 

You can check the email header in Gmail by clicking the three dots and selecting "Show More" to verify the DMARC record.

Sample Header in Gmail: 

3. Align Your "From" Address with Your Domain

To ensure brand consistency and maintain DMARC compliance, your "from" email address should match the domain of your branded sending domain. For instance, if your sending domain is "lc.msgsndr.com," your "from" address should be "hello@msgsndr.com."

Make sure all your email templates and campaigns use the correct "from" address by February 2024.

4. Avoid Impersonating Gmail or Yahoo

Why is this Important?
Google and Yahoo are enforcing stricter DMARC policies, including "quarantine." If you attempt to send emails as Gmail or Yahoo, your deliverability may suffer.

Solution:
Never use 'example@gmail.com' or 'example@yahoo.com' in your "from" headers to avoid impersonation issues.

5. Simplify Unsubscribing for Recipients

Making it easy for recipients to opt out of your emails is now a critical requirement. Hidden unsubscribe buttons lead to negative engagement and higher spam complaints.

If you use LC Email Service, you can enable an automatic unsubscribe link in the footer of all your emails. This ensures compliance with the new one-click unsubscribe policy.

Example of One-Click Unsubscribe in Gmail: 

Before February, review your email templates to ensure they have clear unsubscribe links, preferably in the footer. It doesn’t have to be a one-click solution but should be easy to find.

6. Maintain a Low Spam Complaint Rate

Why Consent Matters:
Sending emails to people who haven’t opted in can lead to spam complaints, which negatively impact deliverability. Aim to keep your spam complaints below 0.30% (or fewer than 1 in 1,000 emails).

If you notice higher spam complaints, particularly from Yahoo, review your email list and engagement practices. You can monitor Yahoo spam reports through Spam Reports. For Gmail, use Google Postmaster Tools to track and manage spam complaints.

By following these steps, you'll be well-positioned to comply with Google and Yahoo's new sender requirements and optimize your email deliverability in 2024.