What is BIMI and how does it help with email marketing?

While BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification)is an email specification for increasing inbox security and brand trust, there’s a nifty bonus that comes along with its implementation: it helps your messages to stand out in the inbox. 

The standard is a relatively new method of email authentication and, until recently, had been difficult to access due to the high associated costs. But changes in Google’s requirements have made it much easier for small businesses to set up BIMI. 

In this guide, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about BIMI, how it can be enabled, and the latest updates making it even easier to get your logo in your recipient’s inbox.

BIMI is an email specification that allows for senders’ brand logos to be displayed next to their emails in the inbox when they’ve been successfully authenticated. 

When a customer receives an email, their email provider will check whether it has been authenticated. This is done with three authentication protocols: SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and optionally, DMARC (Domain-based Messaging Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance).

Each of these methods relies on a text or CNAME record that is stored in the DNS zone of your email servers, and allows a recipient to check that an email message was sent by a trusted sender.

BIMI works in much the same way by allowing you to prove that you are the sender of a message. This can help prevent fraud, but also improves the deliverability of your email messages. Without email authentication, your emails might end up in your recipient’s spam folder.

BIMI also has one major advantage over these earlier standards. It improves user experience and allows you to display your company logo in supported inboxes. This puts your brand logo front and center in your subscribers’ inboxes and helps you to ensure brand consistency across all of your marketing.

For BIMI to work, an email must pass SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. The DMARC policy should also be set to “quarantine” or “reject”. If authentication passes and your DMARC record is configured correctly, the ISP (Internet Service Provider) will then look for a BIMI TXT record, if it supports BIMI. 

The BIMI record points to a URL where your brand logo is stored as an SVG file. Most popular email providers, like Gmail, then look for an extra layer of validation in the form of VMCs (Verified Mark Certificates), or CMCs (Common Mark Certificates).

If all the checks pass, congrats! Your BIMI logo will appear in the inbox next to your sender name.

BIMI takes your email game up a notch by helping you stand out in packed inboxes and making your emails more professional. Who doesn’t want to increase their brand visibility and recognition? But this is a secondary benefit to what BIMI was actually created for: to protect brands and their consumers.

BIMI strengthens email security

Remember, BIMI only works if you pass email authentication. This makes it more difficult for cyber criminals to impersonate your brand because only you will be able to display your verified logo. 

It also lets subscribers know that you really are who you say you are. This helps them to avoid phishing and spoofing attacks by distinguishing legitimate emails from those sent by unauthorized sources.

Imagine if your favorite brand consistently sends you messages with its logo, and then one day, you get an email without one. You’ll be less likely to trust that email. 

BIMI increases email engagement

Using BIMI can increase open and click rates since emails with your logo will stand out and be more recognizable and trustworthy. 

BIMI helps with email deliverability

BIMI doesn’t directly impact deliverability in the way that SPF, DKIM and DMARC do. But when you factor in increased engagement, less chance for abuse of your sending domains and IPs, and support from popular ESPs (Email Service Providers), your sender reputation will be positively impacted and you’ll see an improvement to overall deliverability.

You can learn more about improving your email deliverability in our guide:

There are tons of inbox providers and not all of them support BIMI. But the good news is that many of the most popular providers do and more are in the process of adding support for the standard. Here’s an official list of providers that support BIMI according to the BIMI Working Group.

Even if the most popular email client among your subscribers is not on this list, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put BIMI support in place!

The standard is growing in popularity, especially now that it has become more accessible to a larger number of businesses. By adopting, you're not only getting ahead of the game, but you're also showing your customers that you are one of the most innovative companies out there.

Some mailbox providers require the sender to have a VMC to pass BIMI. This involves sending a request to a VMC provider and meeting the requirements to be approved. Easy! Well, not exactly. 

VMC requires you to have a trademarked logo, which is time-consuming, costly, and in many cases, not a top priority for the majority of small businesses. Plus, a VMC costs well over $1,000 per year, adding even more to the overall cost. This makes it much more difficult for smaller brands and businesses to take advantage of BIMI.

This is where CMC helps.

Common Mark Certificates are just like VMCs except you don’t need to have a trademarked logo (plus, they're a little cheaper too!). And as of September 2024, one of the most popular mailbox providers—Google—supports BIMI via Common Mark Certificates. 

To have your logo appear in Google mailboxes, you need to purchase a CMC and follow the steps in the section below for implementing BIMI.

As part of its Business Connect Initiative, in October 2024, Apple introduced Apple Branded Mail: a new feature that allows businesses to apply to have their logo displayed on their messages in the Mail and Phone apps. While it’s not exactly BIMI, it is a great, free way to have your logo show up in Apple Mail inboxes.

To apply for Apple Branded Mail, you need to create an Apple account and register for Business Connect. You can then customize your brand settings in Apple products for absolutely free.

1. Ensure you have correctly configured SPF, DKIM and DMARC published in your domain’s DNS records. Remember your DMARC policy should be set to “quarantine” or “reject”. Learn more about domain authentication in our KB guide.

2. Create an SVG Tiny PS version of your logo. This is a handy guide on how to create SVG Tiny PS that includes the file specifications and multiple methods for creating the file. It can be a little tricky, so you might need a designer or developer to help you if you’re not comfortable making minor edits to the file’s source code. 

3. Get your VMC or CMC. These certificates aren't a necessary part of the BIMI implementation process. But, you need one if you want major mailbox providers like Google to display your logo. 

4. Publish a BIMI record (as a TXT record) in your domain’s DNS settings. The name will be something like default._bimi and the value, v=BIMI1; l=[SVG URL]; a=[PEM URL]. Check out this guide on how to create a BIMI record for more information.

You can then run a BIMI record check to make sure your BIMI setup is configured correctly.

BIMI is a great way to increase your brand recognition, stand out in the inbox, and improve your open rates. But more than that, it’s a big step in building trust with your subscribers and customers, making your communication more secure, and ensuring solid email deliverability.