In this guide, you’ll learn how to configure DNS records—SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX—to improve your sender reputation, email deliverability, and domain health. You’ll find general instructions to help with the setup of each record.
Why are DNS records important for sending emails?
When you send campaigns from a business mailbox, your email address is always associated with your domain name. For example, the email address “john@company.com” is linked to the “company.com” domain. The settings of your sender domain and its DNS records directly impact your email account’s performance and play crucial role in email authentication.
Go to setup:
DNS records benefits: Email providers see your emails as trustworthy = lower chance to trigger spam filters = better email placement and higher inbox rate
Completing your domain DNS setup is an essential first step in preparing your sender accounts for cold outreach.
1) DNS records improve your domain health and help earn a high sender reputation faster.
2) Emails sent from a healthy domain have a lower chance of any delivery errors.
3) Starting your outreach with a properly configured domain ensures better deliverability than using one without DNS records.
Check your DNS records
A healthy domain ensures the optimal performance of your email accounts. If any record is missing or set up incorrectly, it affects your sender reputation and deliverability. In your Snov.io account, there are two places where you can check your domain records:
How Snov.io helps you with DNS records setup:
1) You can check your domain based on all DNS records
2) Identify configuration issues and get instructions on how to update your domain
3) Get a domain health score that indicates its technical setup readiness
Check domain health: In the email account settings
After adding your mailbox to Snov.io, you can check your domain health in the email account settings.
Go to your email accounts list. Click Edit next to the desired account. Scroll down to the Optional settings section and open the Domain health tab.
Once the check is complete, you’ll see the status of each domain record along with an overall health score. If any record is missing or has issues, the results will indicate which records need updating.
Check your domain regularly to make sure there are no health issues. You can also enable automatic checks to run once a week.
Check domain health: In the Deliverability test
You can check DNS records as part of a deliverability test in your Snov.io account.
In the domain health report, you’ll see the check results and the status of every DNS record (whether it is valid and configured correctly).
You’ll also get personalized instructions on how to update the domain settings for your specific provider (in the Issues to fix tab), along with tips and advice for better deliverability.
Read more about deliverability test results.
Setup DNS records
Before launching your email campaigns, it is strongly recommended to add and verify all necessary DNS records for your sender domains.
Step 1. Identify your domain provider/registrar
First, identify the provider of your domain. This is the service or platform where you registered and purchased your domain name.
Popular domain providers are Namecheap, Amazon Web Services, GoDaddy, Squarespace, IONOS, , etc.
If you’re unsure who your provider is, Snov.io can automatically detect information about your domain provider and email provider during a deliverability test.
In the test results, open the Domain health tab and locate the Domain WHOIS information section. Here, you’ll find details about your domain, including the Registrar URL (your provider’s website).
Step 2. Log in to your domain
Go to the provider’s website and log in to your domain registrar account.
Step 3. Open domain’s DNS settings
To make changes to your domain’s settings, you’ll need to access the DNS management menu. This is where the DNS records are set up or updated.
Step 4. Configure DNS records
Each DNS record is a separate entry in your domain’s DNS settings. In the DNS menu, find the option to add new records and configure every record necessary.
Setup SPF
What is it for: SPF record protects your domain and the emails you send from any fraud or spoofing (impersonation). Without SPF, your emails may be blocked or marked as spam by providers.
The default SPF record has this format:
v=spf1 include:spf.example.com ~all
The part after include: specifies the email server address of your email provider. In the actual SPF record, replace spf.example.com with your email provider’s value.
For example: If your email provider is Google, the SPF record will look like this:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all
If you use multiple providers, add a separate include: for each provider’s SPF value.
For example: If you use Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 as your email providers, the SPF record will look like this:
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all
Your SPF parameters should be the following:
- Record type: TXT (default)
- Host/Name: @ (default)
- Value/Content: The part after include: depends on your email provider—replace spf.example.com with your email provider’s SPF value.
v=spf1 include:spf.example.com ~all
Save the record in your DNS settings and wait up to 48 hours for the changes to take effect. Then, check your domain health in the email account settings to confirm that the SPF record is valid.
Setup DKIM
What is it for: A DKIM record uses digital keys to add a unique signature to your emails, allowing recipient servers to verify that the email was sent by you and its content hasn’t been changed. Without this signature, email providers may mark your emails as suspicious.
To set up your DKIM record, you’ll need to get the DKIM values and keys from your email provider’s. Since Snov.io sends emails through your provider, you need their DKIM value, not Snov.io’s.
Check your provider’s settings for an option to generate DKIM, refer to the DKIM guide, or contact them for specific instructions.
Once you have your DKIM keys, follow the quick steps below to add them to your DNS settings.
To add a DKIM record to your domain’s settings:
Log in to your domain account — the platform or service where you purchased your domain name. Open DNS settings and look for the option to add a new record.
Your DKIM parameters should be the following:
- Record type: TXT (default).
- Host/Name: This is the name of your email provider for DKIM, which you can get from your email provider. It may look something like example._domainkey.
- Value/Content: This is the DKIM record value generated by your email provider.
Your DKIM record may look like this (this is just an example; don’t use it in your actual record).
v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIIBIjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAAOCAQ8AMIIBCgKCAQEA7vPxh6zZ7nBLj1QUXGEXAMPLEKEY…
The part after p= is your public DKIM key. A DKIM record can contain only one DKIM key. If you use multiple providers for sending emails, configure a separate DNS record for each provider.
Save the record in your DNS settings and wait up to 48 hours for the changes to take effect. Then, check your domain health in the email account settings to confirm that the DKIM record is valid.
Setup DMARC
What is it for: DMARC specifies what recipient servers should do with emails sent from your domain that haven’t passed SPF and/or DKIM checks. A DMARC record strengthens domain security (against email spoofing) and lowers the risk your emails will be marked as spam or suspicious.
DMARC records follow a standard format, and the default DMARC can be used for any provider. The specific settings can be adjusted based on your needs.
Here’s the basic DMARC record (you can use the value below as a template for your actual record).
DMARC policy: The part after p= is responsible for policy. This policy specifies what will happen to emails that cannot pass SPF and DKIM checks. You can use the default policy p=none, or change it to p=quarantine (recommended) or p=reject if you want the strictest protection.
DMARC reports: The record includes the email address after mailto: — this is the special email for receiving DMARC reports. Create a dedicated mailbox if you want to receive them. These reports show email authentication statistics and help with potential security issues. Read more about DMARC reports.
To add a DMARC record to your domain’s settings:
Log in to your domain account — the platform or service where you purchased your domain name. Open DNS settings and look for the option to add a new record.
Your DMARC record should have the following parameters:
- Record type: TXT (default). The DMARC record is added as a TXT record in the DNS settings.
- Host/Name: _dmarc.userdomain.com (replace userdomain.com with your actual domain name). Some domain providers automatically add the domain name to this field, so entering just _dmarc might be enough.
- Value/Content: Adjust the p= value based on your needs and replace the email address after mailto: with the real address you created for reports.
v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:your-email@yourdomain.com.
Save the record in your DNS settings and wait up to 48 hours for the changes to take effect. Then, check your domain health in the email account settings to confirm that the DMARC record is valid.
Go to full DMARC record guide.
Setup MX
What is it for: An MX record specifies which mail servers are responsible for receiving incoming emails for your domain. This way, it ensures that emails are correctly routed to your provider’s mail server so they reach your inbox. It do not affect sending emails, but if it is missing, it can cause bounces for your incoming emails (because there’s no mail server to receive them).
MX records do not directly affect your sender reputation or deliverability.
They do not influence how spam filters evaluate your emails. Sending is managed by SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
General steps to set up MX: Get MX record value from your email provider –> Go to your domain’s DNS settings and add a new MX record.
Your email provider gives you the MX value, which you need to use when setting up the MX record in your domain’s DNS settings. You can find specific instructions in their help center or contact their support for assistance. If your email provider is Google Workspace, refer to the Google’s official guide for MX record set up.
To add an MX record to your domain settings:
Log in to your domain account (the platform where you purchased your domain). Open DNS settings and find the option to add a new record.
Your MX record should have the following parameters:
Type: Select MX.
Name/Hostname: Enter @ (or your domain address if @ is not accepted).
Value/Destination: Enter your provider’s MX value. Your provider will give you the exact value you need to use here.
Priority: 10; If you have only one email server, you can set any priority number. However, if your domain already has other MX records, make sure to set the priority value correctly to avoid conflicts.
TTL (Time to live): Leave as default or set to 3600 seconds.
After adding a record to domain settings, wait up to 48 hours for the changes to take effect. Then, check your domain health in the email account settings to confirm that the MX record is valid.