Setting Up Sender Policy Framework to Improve Deliverability and Protect Your Domain

Whether you’re announcing a product launch or nurturing customer relationships, email is an essential channel for reaching your audience. However, making sure your messages actually arrive in your audience’s inboxes is more challenging than ever. Increasingly sophisticated spam filters, growing concerns about phishing and spoofing, and the ever-present need to build trust with mailbox providers like Google and Yahoo make mastering Sender Policy Framework (SPF) essential. It lays the foundation for email deliverability and protects your brand’s reputation with every send.

Table of Contents

• What is Sender Policy Framework?
• Why SPF is essential for modern email
• How to set up your SPF record
• A complete approach with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Why choose Litmus for better email campaigns
• Always reach the inbox with Litmus

What is Sender Policy Framework?

Sender Policy Framework is a simple but effective email authentication protocol that helps ensure only authorized servers can send emails on behalf of your domain. Setting up SPF protects your brand from spoofing and phishing while improving email deliverability. It also builds trust with subscribers and mailbox providers, like Google and Yahoo.

Why SPF is essential for modern email

Setting up SPF creates a record that lists the mail servers authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. The receiving email servers check this record to confirm that incoming emails come from a legitimate source. Here’s why that’s important:

• It gets your email to the inbox: By passing this SPF check, your emails are more likely to be recognized as legitimate and reach the inbox.
• It protects your email sender reputation: Your authorized list of mail servers prevents impersonators from sending emails that appear to come from your domain, protecting your sender reputation.
• It improves your sender score: SPF maintains your sender score—a rating that determines your inbox placement, helping you reach your audience and build their trust in your brand.

How to set up your SPF record

Here’s how to set up your SPF record:

• Collect sending IP addresses: Gather every IP address that sends email on your domains’ behalf. Include servers for internal mail and any mailbox providers your recipients might use for forwarding.
• List all your sending domains: Make a complete list of your domains, even those you don’t actively use for sending email. It’s important to create SPF records for every domain you own to help prevent spoofing of your non-sending domains.
• Create your SPF record: Work closely with your IT team and email service provider to build your SPF record. Make sure all authorized sending sources are included.
• Publish your SPF record to DNS: Add your SPF record to your domain’s DNS settings. Your DNS administrator, IT department or email service provider can help with this step.
• Test your SPF record: After publishing, run an SPF check to confirm that your authorized IPs are listed correctly. If any senders are missing, update your record immediately.

A complete approach with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

When the SPF record is vague or non-existent, the SPF check doesn’t work and you need additional email authentication standards. DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) give several layers of authentication. Use these email authentication standards together for stronger protection and deliverability:

• SPF lets you specify which mail servers can send emails for your domain to stop emails pretending to be from you.
• DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, proving the message hasn’t been changed and comes from your domain.
• DMARC connects SPF and DKIM, tells receiving servers what to do if an email fails authentication, and reports suspicious activity.

Why choose Litmus for better email campaigns

Litmus gives you the confidence to hit send, ensuring your carefully crafted messages actually reach the inbox. Test across all major email clients and devices before you send, and catch deliverability issues before they impact your sender reputation. Discover helpful advice to improve every campaign for better engagement.

Always reach the inbox with Litmus