From early 2024, Yahoo! and Google are making significant changes to their email sending requirements.
The marketing world has been buzzing with rumors about Google and Yahoo!’s plans to work together to protect people from unwanted emails. The changes have finally been announced, so here’s our guide to ensuring you stay on the right side of the new rules.
What are the 2024 email changes?
As of February 2024, Yahoo! and Google are making changes to their email sending requirements. The changes are mostly targeting bulk email senders (over 5,000 emails per day) and are designed to enhance email security and reduce the amount of spam and unwanted emails for users.
Even if you don’t send over 5,000 emails a day, the new rules should be considered best practice and adopted anyway to optimise email campaigns and protect your domain from potential blacklisting.
- Emails must be authenticated using DKIM, SPF, and DMARC.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework): SPF allows domain owners to authorise specific mail servers to send emails on their behalf, so the emails don’t get rejected or caught in spam filters. If you use HubSpot, for example, it already has an SPF in place that covers marketing emails sent through their servers – so you don’t need to do anything.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM gives all emails a digital signature which ensures that the content hasn’t been altered on its journey from the sender to the recipient. If you use HubSpot and want to send emails from your own domain (for example), you can connect your email-sending domain to HubSpot, giving it permission to send emails on your behalf using DKIM.
Going forward, Yahoo and Gmail will require all emails to be DKIM signed.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance): This protocol that uses both SPF and DKIM to prevent email spoofing and phishing. For bulk email senders who send over 5,000 emails a day, DMARC is becoming compulsory – but it’s a good idea for everyone to set it up.
For DMARC to pass, firstly either DKIM or SPF should be set up correctly. If there’s no dedicated IP, you should use the DKIM security protocol to ensure DMARC will pass. You can also set up SPF to be extra secure.
- Your spam threshold must be under 0.3%
No one sending emails should have a high spam rate, as it can negatively impact your domain reputation and will mean your emails end up in spam folders. Work to keep spam complaints low and keep your spam threshold under 0.3%.
Gmail uses advanced machine learning applied to the billions of emails sent every day through Gmail to keep an eye on domain names, users and spam reports. Yahoo! uses Spamhaus, so check your ranking with them and consider delisting yourself to avoid being blacklisted by Yahoo!.
- Unsubscribing needs to be quick & easy
The new rules mean email senders need to make it easy and straightforward for recipients to unsubscribe from mailing lists. Both providers require a one-click unsubscribe option to be clearly visible in the email and unsubscribe requests need to be implemented within two days.
This also benefits senders by reducing spam complaints and can be used to build your brand reputation as well, for example by voluntarily offering email contacts who haven’t engaged with your content in a while if they’d like to unsubscribe (resulting in more engaged leads!).
What happens if I don’t comply with the new Yahoo! & Google email rules?
For anyone sending large volumes of emails (for marketing or any other purpose) who doesn’t comply with the new rules, there’s a risk of blocking emails or entire domains (for repeat offenders) , increased bounce rates, higher spam complaints and reputational damage which can take a lot of work and time to reverse.
The biggest risk if you end up on the wrong side of these rules is a blacklisted domain – and you might find yourself unable to send any emails at all.
What do Yahoo! and Google email changes mean for B2B marketers?
Although these new email rules are more likely to impact B2C marketers in the immediate future, it’s always best to be ahead of changing regulations so you don’t get caught out. If major email platforms are clamping down on spam and unwanted emails, best practice (and the best experience for your audience) is to act now.
By getting to grips with changing email authentication requirements now, you can ensure you won’t get caught out down the line – and guarantee the emails you send reach a more engaged audience – leading to better results.
Not sure? Get in touch
We know lots about marketing and quite a lot about email, too, so if you’re confused about the new email rules for 2024 from Yahoo! and Google, get in touch. We can help you implement any changes, set up email authentication methods and provide easy unsubscribe options.
