- One part we broke something
- A dash of typos
Please return to the Knowledge Base Home to find the ingredients you'll need for success.
To authenticate your email domain, you’ll need to add a Benchmark Email SPF and DKIM record, along with a valid DMARC record to your domain's DNS provider. These records can be found in your account on the Domain Authentication page.
If you are unable to authenticate your domain, your ‘from’ email address will be rewritten and sent from an authenticated Benchmark Email domain. For example, if your email address is sales@companyname.com and your domain is not authenticated, your email address will appear as sales.yourcompanyname.com@123456.clients.bmsend.com in your contact’s inbox.
NEED HELP?
If you're experiencing difficulties authenticating your domain, click on the chat widget located on the bottom right of this screen to chat with a support representative, or click here to send us a message.
BEFORE GETTING STARTED
To send authenticated emails from Benchmark, you'll need to do the following:
If you are authenticating a sub-domain, ensure the SPF and DKIM records, along with a DMARC policy, are added to the sub-domain.
BEST PRACTICE
We recommend using a subdomain for all email marketing and email domain authentication. Inbox service providers may treat subdomains independently, reducing the risk of affecting the reputation of the main domain.
In your Benchmark Email account, you’ll find unique SPF and DKIM records for each private domain that has been verified; both of these records need to be added to your domain’s provider DNS settings. Additionally, you’ll see a DMARC record. The DMARC record is not specific to your Benchmark Email account and only needs to be updated if the record we found is invalid.
The Sender Policy Framework record, commonly known as an SPF record, is a record added to your DNS settings. The SPF record is used to specify which domains have authorization for email sending.
You can access your domain's Benchmark SPF record from within the Domain Authentication page.
DomainKeys Identified Mail; is used to prevent email messages from being forged by adding a digital signature to all emails sent from your domain. DKIM verifies the domain through cryptographic authentication. When DKIM is signed, receiving ISPs can confirm that emails from your domain are legitimate.
You can access your domain's Benchmark SPF record from within the Domain Authentication page.
DMARC, short for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, is another record used for domain authentication. ISPs like Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, and others check to see if SPF and DKIM align with the 'from email address' and what action to take if they do not align. Email senders must have a DMARC Policy in place for emails to pass ISP filters.
If you have a valid DMARC policy, you will see a green check mark indicating that the record is valid. Domains can only have one DMARC Policy, so if you have a green check mark next to the DMARC name and value, you do not need to update DMARC.
If no DMARC record is found, or your DMARC record is invalid, Benchmark will provide a suggested DMARC record to use to ensure you pass the requirements for sending from your domain using Benchmark Email.
Next to each record, you’ll see indicators that tell you whether or not you need to update the records. If you have a green check mark, then the record is valid and authenticated. However, if you have a red X the record is invalid.
Authenticated Records
Invalid - Not Yet Authenticated
IMPORTANT
If you do not add these records, your ‘from’ email address will be rewritten and sent from an authenticated Benchmark Email domain. For example, if you cannot authenticate your domain, and your from email address is sales@companyname.com, your email address would appear as: sales.yourcompanyname.com@123456.clients.bmsend.com.
If you’ve previously verified a private email address, chances are you already have a private domain in your account ready for authentication. Please note that only private domains can be authenticated. Public domains, like Gmail and Yahoo, can not be authenticated. Emails sent from Benchmark using a public email address will have their ‘from email address’ adjusted to use an authenticated Benchmark domain. For example, if your email address is companyname@gmail.com, your domain would look like this: companyname.gmail.com@001B00.clients.bmsend.com.
SUGGESTION
To learn how to verify an email address, please click here.
To see a list of previously verified email addresses, visit your Email Verification page. If there are no private verified email addresses, please add the email associated with the domain you'd like to authenticate.
IMPORTANT
If you cannot verify your private domain, please contact our support team at support@benchmarkemail.com.
Once you have verified an email address associated with your private domain, you can authenticate.
To authenticate, follow the steps below.
Back on the Domain authentication page, you’ll see the authentication status of the records. If your records are ready to be added to your DNS settings, the DNS Record column will read View instead of Start.
Additionally, the authentication status will change to In Progress; no further action is needed from you. The authentication period can take up to 24 hours. You should not expect any emails to be sent from your domain during this time, as the domain has not yet been authenticated. If you have mail that must be sent, it will default to our authenticated subdomain before sending.
When your domain is ready to send emails, the authentication status will change to Authenticated.
Consider
You should have two Benchmark CNAME records and at least one valid DMARC record in your DNS settings when you are done. If you add a DMARC Policy, you’ll have three new records in your DNS Settings.
If you did not add your records correctly, you will see an error message and an X next to the records that need updating. Review the records you added to your DNS settings if you receive an error message. If the error is not visible to you, delete both records previously added and add them again.
NEED HELP?
If you're experiencing difficulties authenticating your domain, here are a few ways to contact a support representative.
The records have not been created.
The records were created and added to your DNS settings, but we are waiting for confirmation. During this stage, no action is needed.
The records were created but not added to your DNS settings, or the records do not match. If you see this, check the message within the records. You’ll see a red X on the error that needs to be corrected. In your DNS settings, check if the records were added exactly as Benchmark provided. If you are not sure, delete the previous records, and proceed to add them again. If you still see an error, please contact our support team.
Indicates the records were added successfully, and no further action is needed.
The process of adding the records will vary depending on your domain host. If you do not have access to your DNS settings, contact your IT team or contact your domain hosting service.
IMPORTANT
Please allow 24 hours before sending any emails from your domain to accommodate the 24 hours. Any email sent during this time may not reflect the changes.
If you prefer a video tutorial, watch this video.
Below we have added some popular domain hosting services; for steps on adding your CNAME Records, click on the CNAME Records link for your domain hosting service.
Please let our support team know if you do not see your domain service listed.
GoDaddy
BlueHost
InMotion
HostGator
HostMonster
Arvixe
Cloudflare
Network Solutions
Name.com
[post_title] => How to Set Up Email Domain Authentication [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => set-email-domain-authentication [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/domain-names/create-cname-record/ https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/email/strengthen-overall-email-authentication/ https://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/email/create-spf-cpanel/ [post_modified] => 2024-03-15 06:13:34 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-03-15 06:13:34 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://kb.benchmarkemail.com/?p=300573 [menu_order] => 3 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 313193 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2023-12-07 08:44:48 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-12-07 08:44:48 [post_content] =>At Benchmark, we’re on a constant mission to pursue product excellence for our users. We’ve been so busy building over the last few months that we haven’t had a chance to update you on all of our progress!
Here are just a few of the things we’ve been working on recently:
This year Google deprecated Universal Analytics in favor of GA4. We’ve made updates to ensure that users can still track all of their Benchmark Email analytics in GA4 to get the best picture of your email marketing ROI.
Users can now easily copy a link for the web version of an email to share across any and all social platforms or anywhere else you need the link. More eyes on your emails is always a good thing!
With two-factor authentication, you can prevent unauthorized access to your account by requiring an additional verification step during the sign-in process.
Two-factor authentication is available for all users. To enable this feature, simply navigate to the Security page inside of your Account Settings and follow the instructions to enable the feature. It’s never been easier to safeguard your account!
We’ve made several improvements to our test emails to improve delivery and speed to the inbox and to ensure that you’re never left wondering where your test email is.
With a simplified upgrade page and the ability to downgrade in-app, Benchmark Email users can rest easy knowing they can always change plans according to their needs.
Say hello to the latest feature in our Smart suite of tools!
New users have recently gotten a chance to try out our latest feature, Smart Design, during their onboarding experience. Smart Design’s AI-powered technology grabs a user’s brand assets from their website to build a customized, branded email template in seconds.
And not to worry – veteran Benchmark Email users will get to experience the power of Smart Design when it’s launched very soon!
Benchmark Email users can enable 2-Step Verification to enhance their account's security. This feature is available in all Benchmark plans and can be accessed on the Security page in Account Settings.
Topics covered in this article:
Before Getting Started
You can set up 2-Step Verification from your Accounts Security page. The 2-Step Verification is not mandatory, but we encourage you to enable it and add an extra layer of security to your account.
To enable 2-Step Verification, follow these steps:
IMPORTANT
To disable the 2-Step Verification, you'll need to log into your Benchmark Email account, navigate to the Account Setting page, and open the Security page. Click on the 2-Step Verification toggle option; it should go from blue to gray.
Will I have to verify via email each time I log in?
No, you will only need to complete the 2-Step Verification 30 days from the last verification and if you are signing in from a new device.
What happens if I do not have access to the email with the security code?
If you are unable to complete the 2-Step Verification, please contact our support team.
[post_title] => Benchmark Email 2-Step Verification by Email [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => benchmark-email-2-step-verification [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-11-17 18:48:58 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-11-17 18:48:58 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://kb.benchmarkemail.com/?p=313008 [menu_order] => 29 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 312719 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2023-10-05 16:09:34 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-10-05 16:09:34 [post_content] =>The Benchmark Email Smart Design feature creates new emails in minutes using your website's link or business description. All you have to do is select the type of email you need, select your images and brand colors, and you're done!
Topics covered in this article:
Things to know before getting started:
The Smart Design chatbot greets new Benchmark Email users. Once the chat window is closed, you can use Smart Design again any time you create a new email.
Enhance your experience and explore our AI tools, including Smart Content, which was designed to improve and generate email copy effortlessly.
Images previously located on your website will be added to your Benchmark Email Gallery. Images saved can be easily accessed in the email editor. Images saved can also be deleted from your gallery. To learn how to delete an image, click here.
The Smart Design feature performs an automatic search of your website, looking for things like company name, images, website descriptions, and more. Using this gathered content, it crafts AI-generated text for your emails. While Smart Design functions optimally with a website to search, if you don't have a website, simply provide a company description.
There are two ways you can access the Smart Design tool, new users are greeted by the Smart Design chatbot and can be found within the email creation option.
As a new user, you will be greeted by our Smart Design chatbot, which will walk you through a series of questions to create your first email. Here is a rundown of how the Smart Design greeting will work.
CONSIDER
Once the email loads into the editor, further alterations cannot be made within Smart Design. Should you wish to explore another template, simply follow the steps again.
When you are done with your template, you can click, you'll give your email a subject line, select the contacts you'll email, and select a from and reply email address. Additionally, you can rename your email template. The last step is to send out your email! You can schedule the email for a later date or send it immediately.
The Smart Design feature can be accessed during the email creation process. To use the Smart Design feature, select the Create New Email option from the home dashboard or from the email dashboard.
Home Dashboard
Email Dashboard
Next, you'll select the type of email you want to create and choose Smart Design.
CONSIDER
Once the email loads into the editor, further alterations cannot be made within Smart Design. Should you wish to explore another template, simply follow the steps again.
When you are done with your template, you can click, you'll give your email a subject line, select the contacts you'll email, and select a from and reply email address. The last step is to send out your email! You can schedule the email for a later date or send it immediately.
Smart Design collects content from your website. If you don't own a website, you can enter a site description, and it will generate content based on the information provided. After the template appears in the editor, you can edit the text, incorporate different images, or keep it unchanged. We strongly recommend customizing the emails to better suit your needs. This allows you to tailor the content to your audience and make it more personalized.
Here are some email templates created using Smart Design. These templates have been generated by Smart Design, utilizing content from our own website
Welcome Email - Website
Welcome Email - Without Website
Newsletter Email - Website
Newsletter Email - Without Website
Promotional Email - Website
Promotional Email - Without Website
What systems support Benchmark Email's Smart Design feature?
Smart Design is supported in PC - Windows (latest versions) and Mac - OSX (latest versions).
Supported Browsers:
Why does Smart Design say the images I selected are duplicates?
Images used in emails previously created with Smart Design are automatically saved to your gallery. If you see the duplicate error, it is because the image has already been saved in your account.
Why is Smart Design skipping questions like company logo, brand name, or description?
Smart Design saves previously used information, if the information exists the steps will be skipped.
What type of text will Smart Design generate?
Smart Design can generate headlines, paragraph text, one-sentence call to action, and buttons. Please note that not every email template uses all text elements, and some templates incorporate multiple components. The newsletter template includes multiple paragraphs, headlines, and buttons, offering more text options.
[post_title] => Smart Design by Benchmark Email [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => smart-design-benchmark-email [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-02-26 20:48:15 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-02-26 20:48:15 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://kb.benchmarkemail.com/?p=312719 [menu_order] => 38 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 311251 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2023-04-11 20:26:52 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-04-11 20:26:52 [post_content] =>At Benchmark, we're on a constant mission to pursue product excellence for our users. Here's a few of the ways we've worked toward that mission over the last 30 days:
When sending an email, you should always avoid using no-reply email addresses. Using a no-reply email address may prevent unintended replies, such as "Out of Office" messages, but it can also have negative consequences. By using no-reply email addresses, you can miss out on customer feedback, or revenue chances may be overlooked.
Topics covered in this article:
DID YOU KNOW
You can easily change the reply email address on the email's Details page. To change your reply email address, go to your email campaign, and open the Details page. Open the From section, and enable Use a different email address for replies. Click here to learn more.
A no-reply email address is an email address that is used to discourage recipients from replying to an email. This no-reply email uses a variation similar to "no-reply@companydomain.com." It is commonly used to send email notifications, purchase or event confirmations, among other transactional messages. Not always, but in some cases, the inbox for this email address is not monitored, or it can’t receive messages.
Recipients who attempt to reply to a no-reply email will receive a 550 bounce message from their email provider, as the email is not designed to receive messages.
The error message varies from inbox to inbox but will say something like this:
Address not found. Your message wasn't delivered to no-reply@customerservice.com because the address couldn't be found, or is unable to receive mail.
The response from the remote server was: 550 No Such User Here.
CONSIDER
No-reply emails were designed to decrease email responses. Although effective in decreasing the number of replies following a large email campaign, using a no-reply email address can have negative consequences.
There are several reasons why you shouldn’t use no-reply email addresses; no-reply emails can decrease your customer satisfaction, brand trust, and in some cases, email delivery.
Spam filters vary in design, yet all share the common purpose of identifying unsolicited and hazardous email content. Emails sent from generic addresses, such as a no-reply email, may trigger spam filtering. A lack of engagement with your messages over time can ultimately damage your email deliverability.
Your email communication with customers, contacts, prospects, or leads should not be viewed as a one-way communication channel. If customers attempt to reply to your emails and are unsuccessful in reaching you or your company, their satisfaction may diminish. Using a no-reply email address for your email communications may give the idea you are not interested in their questions or concerns.
Customers who cannot reach you by replying to your emails may question your company's customer service, resulting in a breakdown of trust. Failure to offer simple and straightforward methods for responding to your emails may give a negative customer experience, leaving your contacts with the impression that you are uninterested in their responses.
SUGGESTION
Instead of risking customer satisfaction, brand trust, and inbox delivery, we encourage you to ditch no-reply email addresses.
No-reply emails were once acceptable but have been replaced by better alternatives. To avoid using a no-reply email address, we have compiled some options.
Replace the no-reply email with a monitored email dedicated to handling email marketing responses. Optimal options include utilizing an email with a person's name, such as kathy@yourcomapanyname.com, or selecting a support-related email, such as support@yourcompanyname.com.
Here are some additional email examples to use instead of the no-reply email address.
In addition to creating a designated email address for marketing responses, we recommend adding an email footer that gives customers an easy-to-see option to submit questions.
Provide easy methods for your recipients to contact you, such as an email link, chat link, or a "Contact Us" button where they can enter additional information to receive assistance.
Here are some examples based on real company emails.
Example 1: Button
Example 2: Email Footer
Example 3: Need Help Option Buttons
If you have any questions, please contact our support team.
[post_title] => Best Practices for No Reply Email Addresses [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => best-practices-no-reply-email-address [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-07-25 21:11:04 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-07-25 21:11:04 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://kb.benchmarkemail.com/?p=311187 [menu_order] => 57 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 230167 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2018-12-19 01:08:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2018-12-19 01:08:25 [post_content] =>Use the Test Email feature to send a test version of your email and see how your email will appear in the inbox.
Topics covered in this article:
Things to know before getting started:
To send a test email, follow the steps below.
If you want to make changes to your email before sending the test email, you can use the Send Test email within the editor.
If you exceeded your account's campaign or daily test email limit, you could schedule and send the email as a regular campaign. We recommend creating a test email list; this list can be used when testing the appearance of your email.
IMPORTANT
Please do not use the Test Email feature to measure your email deliverability. Instead, schedule and send your email. If you'd like to learn more about how to improve your email deliverability, please click here.
Downgrading your Benchmark Email subscription may impact the features you currently use or have access to. We encourage you to review the features that a subscription downgrade could impact to avoid confusion or account delays. This article will outline which features are affected when you downgrade.
IMPORTANT
To see a full list of our features provided in each plan subscription, click here.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
Downgrading to a Lite plan will prevent you from creating new A/B tests or accessing reports for previous tests.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
Downgrading to a Lite plan will result in losing access to activating new journeys. However, you will continue to have access to reports for deactivated journeys.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
When you downgrade your plan, the Website Tracking script will continue to track and work. However, the reporting will be deprecated since journeys will be deactivated.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
Downgrading to a Lite plan removes access to our email HTML Code editor. However, you can still access reports for emails previously sent using this editor if you downgrade.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
If you enabled the Security PIN for your account, downgrading your plan will result in losing access to this feature. Therefore, you can no longer use a security PIN to protect lists being exported from your account.
To learn about the Security Pin feature, click here.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
When you downgrade your plan, a new limit for signup forms is applied to your account. Your plan subscription determines the signup form limits.
Here is a breakdown:
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
Downgrading to a Lite plan will result in losing access to edit or create new surveys. Previously activated surveys will remain accessible, but you can no longer view their reports.
To learn more about Benchmark Surveys, click here.
Available in Enterprise and Pro plans
Downgrading to a lite plan will result in losing access to edit or create new polls. Any active polls will remain accessible, but you will no longer have access to view their reports.
To learn more about Benchmark Polls, click here.
CONSIDER
Downgrading your subscription plan can help you reduce costs, but it can also affect the features you use and have access to. Therefore, it is important to review the feature changes before downgrading to ensure that it will not negatively impact your business.
If you have any questions, please contact our support team.
[post_title] => Features Impacted by Downgrading [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => downgrading-features-impacted [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-05-17 17:31:21 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-05-17 17:31:21 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://kb.benchmarkemail.com/?p=311182 [menu_order] => 75 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 231099 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2011-10-07 06:46:58 [post_date_gmt] => 2011-10-07 06:46:58 [post_content] =>The Benchmark Clean List feature can remove specific groups of emails from individual contact lists, such as hard-bounces, soft bounces, or contacts who have not opened your emails. If you are not ready to remove the contacts, you can create a new email list.
Sending to a group of contacts who are not engaging with your email or a group of contacts whose emails could be invalid can and will hurt your email deliverability. We recommend you clean your list periodically and especially after sending email campaigns.
The Clean List feature should not be confused with List Verification; list Verification is typically used before emailing your list but can be utilized at any point. Click here to learn more about List Verification.
CONSIDER
Before you send your next email campaign, take a second to make sure your email list is clean. Not only will this help improve your email delivery, but it can also increase engagement.
Topics covered in this article:
If you’d like to have a list of the email addresses but still want them removed from the original list, follow the steps below.
By following this method, you will have a separate list of the selected group, and the email addresses will also be removed from the original list.
The list cleaning tool will identify and remove unengaged contacts that have not opened previous email campaigns. There may be times where you would prefer not to delete these contacts but instead keep them and no longer email them. One way to accomplish this is to create your own Suppression List where you can house these contacts and then exclude them from future emails. A Suppression List can help you maintain a healthy and engaged list which in-turn improves your deliverability.
A suppression list is not the same as the Master Unsubscribe List or the Master Invalid List, where email addresses in those lists are considered inactive contacts and can not be emailed. The suppression list is created and maintained by you, the user, and the email addresses in this list are considered active contacts.
How to create a Suppression List
We strongly recommend only emailing contacts who have engaged with your email campaigns within a reasonable time period. Continuing to email unengaged contacts will result in poor deliverability.
If you sent an email to multiple lists and want to remove all of the emails that hard-bounced permanently, you can add the hard-bounces to your Master Unsubscribe list to avoid emailing them in the future.
If you have any questions, please contact our support team.
[post_title] => Clean List Feature [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => clean-list [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-06-17 17:30:12 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-06-17 17:30:12 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://kbme.flywheelsites.com/what-is-a-clean-list-and-how-do-i-clean-my-list-2/ [menu_order] => 85 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 310949 [post_author] => 2 [post_date] => 2023-03-08 01:25:16 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-03-08 01:25:16 [post_content] =>At Benchmark, we're on a constant mission to pursue product excellence for our users. Here's a few of the ways we've worked toward that mission over the last 30 days:
To authenticate your email domain, you’ll need to add a Benchmark Email SPF and DKIM record, along with a valid DMARC record to your domain's DNS provider. These records can be found in your account on the Domain Authentication page.
If you are unable to authenticate your domain, your ‘from’ email address will be rewritten and sent from an authenticated Benchmark Email domain. For example, if your email address is sales@companyname.com and your domain is not authenticated, your email address will appear as sales.yourcompanyname.com@123456.clients.bmsend.com in your contact’s inbox.
NEED HELP?
If you're experiencing difficulties authenticating your domain, click on the chat widget located on the bottom right of this screen to chat with a support representative, or click here to send us a message.
BEFORE GETTING STARTED
To send authenticated emails from Benchmark, you'll need to do the following:
If you are authenticating a sub-domain, ensure the SPF and DKIM records, along with a DMARC policy, are added to the sub-domain.
BEST PRACTICE
We recommend using a subdomain for all email marketing and email domain authentication. Inbox service providers may treat subdomains independently, reducing the risk of affecting the reputation of the main domain.
In your Benchmark Email account, you’ll find unique SPF and DKIM records for each private domain that has been verified; both of these records need to be added to your domain’s provider DNS settings. Additionally, you’ll see a DMARC record. The DMARC record is not specific to your Benchmark Email account and only needs to be updated if the record we found is invalid.
The Sender Policy Framework record, commonly known as an SPF record, is a record added to your DNS settings. The SPF record is used to specify which domains have authorization for email sending.
You can access your domain's Benchmark SPF record from within the Domain Authentication page.
DomainKeys Identified Mail; is used to prevent email messages from being forged by adding a digital signature to all emails sent from your domain. DKIM verifies the domain through cryptographic authentication. When DKIM is signed, receiving ISPs can confirm that emails from your domain are legitimate.
You can access your domain's Benchmark SPF record from within the Domain Authentication page.
DMARC, short for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, is another record used for domain authentication. ISPs like Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, and others check to see if SPF and DKIM align with the 'from email address' and what action to take if they do not align. Email senders must have a DMARC Policy in place for emails to pass ISP filters.
If you have a valid DMARC policy, you will see a green check mark indicating that the record is valid. Domains can only have one DMARC Policy, so if you have a green check mark next to the DMARC name and value, you do not need to update DMARC.
If no DMARC record is found, or your DMARC record is invalid, Benchmark will provide a suggested DMARC record to use to ensure you pass the requirements for sending from your domain using Benchmark Email.
Next to each record, you’ll see indicators that tell you whether or not you need to update the records. If you have a green check mark, then the record is valid and authenticated. However, if you have a red X the record is invalid.
Authenticated Records
Invalid - Not Yet Authenticated
IMPORTANT
If you do not add these records, your ‘from’ email address will be rewritten and sent from an authenticated Benchmark Email domain. For example, if you cannot authenticate your domain, and your from email address is sales@companyname.com, your email address would appear as: sales.yourcompanyname.com@123456.clients.bmsend.com.
If you’ve previously verified a private email address, chances are you already have a private domain in your account ready for authentication. Please note that only private domains can be authenticated. Public domains, like Gmail and Yahoo, can not be authenticated. Emails sent from Benchmark using a public email address will have their ‘from email address’ adjusted to use an authenticated Benchmark domain. For example, if your email address is companyname@gmail.com, your domain would look like this: companyname.gmail.com@001B00.clients.bmsend.com.
SUGGESTION
To learn how to verify an email address, please click here.
To see a list of previously verified email addresses, visit your Email Verification page. If there are no private verified email addresses, please add the email associated with the domain you'd like to authenticate.
IMPORTANT
If you cannot verify your private domain, please contact our support team at support@benchmarkemail.com.
Once you have verified an email address associated with your private domain, you can authenticate.
To authenticate, follow the steps below.
Back on the Domain authentication page, you’ll see the authentication status of the records. If your records are ready to be added to your DNS settings, the DNS Record column will read View instead of Start.
Additionally, the authentication status will change to In Progress; no further action is needed from you. The authentication period can take up to 24 hours. You should not expect any emails to be sent from your domain during this time, as the domain has not yet been authenticated. If you have mail that must be sent, it will default to our authenticated subdomain before sending.
When your domain is ready to send emails, the authentication status will change to Authenticated.
Consider
You should have two Benchmark CNAME records and at least one valid DMARC record in your DNS settings when you are done. If you add a DMARC Policy, you’ll have three new records in your DNS Settings.
If you did not add your records correctly, you will see an error message and an X next to the records that need updating. Review the records you added to your DNS settings if you receive an error message. If the error is not visible to you, delete both records previously added and add them again.
NEED HELP?
If you're experiencing difficulties authenticating your domain, here are a few ways to contact a support representative.
The records have not been created.
The records were created and added to your DNS settings, but we are waiting for confirmation. During this stage, no action is needed.
The records were created but not added to your DNS settings, or the records do not match. If you see this, check the message within the records. You’ll see a red X on the error that needs to be corrected. In your DNS settings, check if the records were added exactly as Benchmark provided. If you are not sure, delete the previous records, and proceed to add them again. If you still see an error, please contact our support team.
Indicates the records were added successfully, and no further action is needed.
The process of adding the records will vary depending on your domain host. If you do not have access to your DNS settings, contact your IT team or contact your domain hosting service.
IMPORTANT
Please allow 24 hours before sending any emails from your domain to accommodate the 24 hours. Any email sent during this time may not reflect the changes.
If you prefer a video tutorial, watch this video.
Below we have added some popular domain hosting services; for steps on adding your CNAME Records, click on the CNAME Records link for your domain hosting service.
Please let our support team know if you do not see your domain service listed.
GoDaddy
BlueHost
InMotion
HostGator
HostMonster
Arvixe
Cloudflare
Network Solutions
Name.com
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