Gmail and Yahoo are rolling out new inbox protection rules. Here’s how you can get ahead of it.

Google and Yahoo have announced new rules for bulk email senders effective February 2024, focusing on authentication, spam-rate control, and simplified unsubscription processes to combat spam and enhance inbox safety. This initiative is likely to set a new industry standard as it aims to foster a safer email ecosystem.

It may seem like a lot to take in, but there is no cause for alarm. These new rules are really just common sense and good email practices now made into requirements. If you’re already doing the right things for great email delivery, there's not much to worry about.

Here’s a rundown of the changes and the steps you can take to ensure your email campaigns continue to thrive in this new setup.

These new guidelines set by Google and Yahoo are already considered basic best practices here at MailerLite, and many of you have already been following them for a while. Here is a breakdown of each new rule. →

1. Authenticate your sending domain

If someone asks to see your ID and you produce your driver’s license, passport and birth certificate, you can prove—without a doubt—that you are who you say you are.

That’s what domain authentication does for email. Bulk email senders are now required to adhere to authentication protocols by authenticating their email domain (the domain address used for sending).

This is particularly important for smaller businesses that send from a free email domain (e.g. yourbusiness@gmail.com) because you can’t authenticate a domain you don’t own.

So with these new rules, you won’t be able to use a free email domain as your sender address. You will instead need to purchase your own domain (e.g., @yourbusiness.com).

2. Stay below the spam rate threshold

The new email policies by Google and Yahoo include a spam rate threshold for bulk senders. Specifically, Google and Yahoo require senders to stay below a spam rate of 0.3% (as measured by Google's Postmaster tools and Yahoo's internal systems​​).

It's clear that both Google and Yahoo are enforcing a spam rate threshold to manage the volume of spam emails and improve the user experience by reducing clutter in people’s inboxes​.

At MailerLite, we've always been proactive in maintaining a low spam rate, with our own anti-spam policy enforcing a spam rate of 0.2%. This aligns with the new guidelines and also showcases our long-standing commitment to providing a high-quality, spam-free email experience for both senders and recipients.

3. Enable a one-click list-unsubscribe header

Google and Yahoo will require bulk senders, defined by the inbox providers as people who send 5,000 messages to users of their services, to enable a one-click list-unsubscribe header. This is a feature that allows email recipients to unsubscribe from emails from within the email client with a click, rather than trying to find the unsubscribe link in an email footer.

The companies believe subscribers shouldn’t have to jump through hoops to unsubscribe from an email list. And we agree! That’s why MailerLite enables one-click list-unsubscribe headers by default.

The new policies also require senders to process unsubscribe requests within 2 days. For MailerLite users, no action is required here.

4. Set up a DMARC record

Bulk senders will also need to set up another security protocol, DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance).

DMARC ensures emails are genuinely coming from the domain they claim to be from, by checking the alignment of the SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) records. A DMARC record is a TXT record in your domain's DNS settings.

Setting up a DMARC record is a proactive measure to protect your brand and your audience from phishing and spoofing attacks. It’s about ensuring that only legitimate emails from your domain reach the inbox, which in turn boosts your sender reputation and deliverability rates.

Setting up DMARC correctly is essential. You can use an online tool to generate the record and then add it to your DNS, helping you stay compliant with these new guidelines and avoid any negative impact on email deliverability.

MailerLite users who are yet to set up a DMARC record will see a disclaimer in the domains section of their dashboard. If you see this message and you send over 5,000 emails to Yahoo or Google accounts, be sure to set up DMARC.

Google and Yahoo’s new requirements echo well-established best practices that most ESPs already recommend.

To dot the i’s and cross the t’s, we've listed some simple steps you can take to align with these updates. Official requirements or not, you'll benefit from optimizing your strategy for maximum deliverability.

1. Understand and implement domain authentication protocols

“Domain authentication” may sound technical and scary, but it’s actually very straightforward and easy to complete on your own. All you have to do is copy and paste 2 records from your MailerLite account to your domain management system.

When trying to authenticate your domain, our app will recognize your hosting provider and show relevant help articles. Our support team has also created video walkthroughs of the authentication process for some of the most popular website hosts.

Here’s a quick explainer, with step-by-step instructions:

We've also added a new "Reply-to" field to campaigns, which allows you to receive campaign responses to a different email address than the one you used to send the campaign.

This means you can continue receiving campaign responses to a free email address, even though you send from an address with a custom domain.

To set up DMARC, you have to generate a DMARC record and then paste it into your domain's DNS settings as a TXT file.

There are plenty of online generators you can use for this, including MailerCheck's DMARC monitoring tool. Just choose the relevant settings and the tool will create a record based on your choices. It's free to use for a single domain.

2. Modify your strategy to keep your spam rate low

You don’t need to be a spammer to get spam complaints. It happens to the best of us. There are, however, a few simple steps you can take to avoid spam filters and reach the inbox.

• Enable double opt-in: Requiring subscribers to double opt-in stops bot attacks in their tracks, preventing dangerous email addresses called “spam traps” from making it onto your list. It also prevents hard bounces by not importing addresses with typos and weeds out anyone who isn’t genuinely interested in your message

• Verify your email list: Use a list verification tool, like MailerCheck, to remove potentially harmful and invalid email addresses from your email list

• Clean up inactive subscribers: It’s safe to assume that people who don’t open your emails aren’t that interested. They also take up space in your list and negatively impact your metrics. Remove inactive subscribers to maintain proper list hygiene

• Remove old email addresses: If you haven’t contacted an email list in over a year, it’s better to let them go than risk them not remembering they ever signed up

• Update your welcome email: Make sure your welcome email lets subscribers know what to expect, you can even go a step further and allow them to self-segment based on their preference so subscribers only receive the emails they truly want

• Optimize your content to avoid spam filters: Spam filters flag any email characteristics associated with spam. Avoid red text, writing in all caps, don’t use too many exclamation points and keep it short by cutting out any unnecessary padding

3. Educate your team

Educate your team about the new changes and ensure everyone who has access to your email marketing is aware and prepared for the adjustments needed.

The upcoming changes in email sending policies by Google and Yahoo are small tweaks in the rules to make inboxes safer. 

These new guidelines simply ensure that email senders:

• Follow best practices for email authentication

• Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe with a single click

• Keep spam rates low to maintain good email deliverability and a pleasant email experience for users

Embracing these changes and adapting to the new standards proactively will not only uphold your brand's reputation but will also enhance engagement and trust with your audience.

Editors note: This post was updated in January 2024 to provide further information about adapting to the changes.