Changes Happening to Email Marketing

By now, you’ve probably heard about Google and Yahoo’s new sender requirements. 

In order to meet Google and Yahoo’s email sender requirements in 2024, it is crucial to stay informed and updated on the latest guidelines and best practices. These requirements are put in place to ensure the delivery of legitimate and relevant emails to users’ inboxes, while filtering out unsolicited and potentially harmful messages.

How to meet Google and Yahoo’s email sender requirements in 2024 

Follow these steps to prepare for Google and Yahoo’s new sender requirements going into effect in February 2024. 

Get your account ready

A comprehensive guide to guarantee compliance with the latest sender regulations imposed by Google and Yahoo, encompassing a series of essential measures to be undertaken. 

Remove Google from your friendly “from” address. 

This rule is applicable to all email senders, regardless of whether they send bulk emails or not. It is strongly advised to avoid using Gmail or Yahoo email addresses as the “from” address in your emails. Instead, it is recommended to switch to a domain that you own for your “from” address. To comply with this requirement, it is essential to have an email address that includes your own website domain name. If you are a new brand and have not yet acquired your own domain, it is advisable to invest in one before February 1, 2024.  

You can purchase your own domain from any reputable domain registrar. Having your own website domain is necessary to proceed with the remaining tasks mentioned in this checklist. 

Set up a branded sending domain   

Utilising branded sending domains, also referred to as dedicated sending domains, offers enhanced authority over your sender reputation. Moreover, it enhances your brand presence in the recipient’s inbox by eliminating the “sent via klaviyomail.com” disclaimer.  

Employing branded sending domains aligns with optimal deliverability practices and is essential for bulk senders who frequently communicate with Google and Yahoo recipients, effective from February onwards. It is important to be aware that once your branded sending domain is activated, it may be necessary to gradually establish a solid sending infrastructure over the course of the following 2 – 4 weeks.

Set up DMARC with p=none on your root domain

The implementation of DMARC authentication serves as a crucial protocol for servers to verify the legitimacy of incoming emails and ensure they originate from authorised senders. Organisations rely on DMARC policies to safeguard their domain in the sender email address against unauthorised usage by malicious individuals. To establish DMARC authentication, it is necessary to configure the settings within your DNS provider. If you haven’t yet implemented a DMARC policy, we strongly advise you to adopt a p=none policy for your root domain, following the specific guidelines provided by Google.

Rest assured, if you have already set up a DMARC policy, there is no need for you to make any alterations to your existing policy.

Explore third-party tools that can help you update and manage your DMARC policy: ‍ 

• DMARCian‍ 
• ValiMail‍ 
• EasyDMARC

Algin your “from” address with your branded domain   

The email address displayed in your subscribers’ inbox, known as your amicable “from” address, represents your brand’s identity. 

The friendly “from” address is labeled “Sender email address” in Klaviyo  

In order to be DMARC compliant, the domain in your friendly “from” address must align with the root domain in your branded sending domain.   

So, if your branded sending domain is called send.kvyodc.com, the root domain would be kvyodc.com. Therefore, using [email protected] as your “from” address would be in alignment with the root domain.  

Make it easy to unsubscribe

One of the latest obligations for senders is to include a convenient one-click unsubscribe link in every email. Fortunately, Klaviyo has taken the responsibility of managing this task on your behalf. To ensure all users comply with this new requirement, Klaviyo will automatically incorporate a one-click unsubscribe link into the email header. In this context, the term “header” refers to the information within an email that pertains to the sender and message authentication. Klaviyo will integrate one-click list-unsubscribe functionality into this code for every email. The appearance of the one-click unsubscribe feature may vary across different email clients. However, refer to the example from Gmail below for a visual representation of how it might appear to recipients. 

Example of what one-click unsubscribe looks like to Gmail users 

Your primary task is to review all your campaign templates and flow emails by February to verify the presence of an unsubscribe link within the body of your email (typically found in the footer). While the unsubscribe link doesn’t necessarily have to be one-click, it should be unmistakable and conveniently reachable. 

Keep spam complaints low   

All individuals must adhere to this additional requirement, which has consistently proven to be a vital guideline for marketers. Keeping spam complaints at a minimum is an essential method to demonstrate to inbox providers that you are a reputable sender who diligently follows the best practices for email deliverability. For insights into your deliverability metrics, kindly visit the deliverability hub in Klaviyo. Alternatively, you may consider utilising Google Postmaster Tools to effectively monitor how your email sending strategy aligns with the specific requirements set by Google. 

Other actions that you may need to take include 

• Setting up SPF and DKIM email authentication for your domain 
• Ensuring your sending domain and IP has valid forward and reverse DNS records 
• Formatting messages according to the Internet Messaging Format standard 

The Evolution of Email Marketing: Embracing Change for Successful Delivery and Engagement

These changes to email marketing may seem daunting, but they are ultimately for the benefit of both email senders and recipients. By staying informed and implementing the necessary changes, businesses and marketers can continue to effectively reach their audience without being flagged as spam.

It’s important to take these new requirements seriously and make sure your email practices align with them to ensure successful delivery and engagement with your audience.

Stay informed and stay ahead of the game to make the most out of your email marketing efforts.