Important changes to Gmail and Yahoo and what brands need to do
Google and Yahoo are making changes that are going to impact how emails from brands are treated. Beginning in February 2024, all emails sent from an ecommerce CMS or third-party platform such as Emarsys, HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Yotpo, will require important updates that comply with new authentication standards.
Noncompliance may lead to your emails being directed to the digital underworld of the spam folder and damage your deliverability rates. That’s why it’s important to act now – if you haven’t already!
What are the changes?
To ensure your emails continue to reach your customers’ inbox, while also protecting your brand reputation from bad actors, there are three key changes:
1 Authentication best practices
Authentication best practices are designed to keep users from receiving fraudulent emails from spammers and spoofers and to stop third-parties from impersonating brands and people.
DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and Domain-based Message Authentication and Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) need to be in place and properly configured for all sending domains.
DKIM helps to prevent email proofing; SPF verifies the sending email server is authorized to send an email on behalf of a domain. DMARC is a protocol that further safeguards email domain owners from email spoofing.
Failing to include a third-party tool’s IP addresses and/or domain in the SPF record may result in that tool’s email going to the spam folder automatically.
SPF records should have -all at the end of the record to indicate that any emails that are from senders that are not explicitly listed in the SPF record should be considered spam and so to automatically send those emails to the spam folder.
For Salesforce Marketing Cloud users, ensure that the Sender Authentication Package (SAP) is set up correctly.
Tryzens provides support in implementing and updating authentication best practices, helping you to successfully navigate these adjustments.
2 Provide a one-click opt out option
Ensure that you have not configured the default list-unsubscribe header to redirect to a customized landing page or are using a custom subscription center. This could lead to noncompliance. Opting out must be a literal one-click method. Beginning 1 June 2024, the unsubscribe option must be immediate and within the user’s inbox.
Some platforms have the list-unsubscribe POST functionality by default, such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Shopify has one-click unsubscribe functionality built into the platform.
Tryzens can help you implement one-click opt out functionality that provides your customers with a quick and easy way of unsubscribing.
3 Minimize spam complaints
Both Gmail and Yahoo say that your spam complaint rate should be below 0.10% and avoid ever reaching a rate of 0.30% or higher.
Review the last six-month period to validate that you’re not approaching 0.10% complaint rate. If you’re over 0.10%, there are a few things to do. (1) Reexamine your opt-in practices, which are both your AUP and anti-span policies. (2) Create a preference center that lets your subscribers customize the type of content they receive. (3) Stop sending emails to unengaged segments.
This helps brands minimize spam complaints while increasing engagement rates. If you need help reviewing your anti-spam and AUP policies, Tryzens is here to help. Just connect with us.
Useful links
For businesses using Mailchimp
For businesses using Salesforce Marketing Cloud
For businesses using Adobe Campaign or Marketo Engage
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