Do I need to add all subdomains to Google Postmaster Tools?

Summary

The overwhelming consensus from email marketing experts, documentation from Google, Microsoft, DMARC.org, and RFC, and community discussions is that adding all subdomains used for sending emails to Google Postmaster Tools is essential. This practice ensures a comprehensive view of your email program's reputation by allowing you to track the individual sending health of each subdomain, which maintains its own distinct reputation. This granular monitoring enables proactive identification and resolution of deliverability issues, facilitates separate management of marketing versus transactional emails, and supports proper authentication and reputation management aligned with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies.

Key findings

  • Complete Reputation View: Adding all subdomains to Google Postmaster Tools provides a comprehensive view of your email program's overall reputation.
  • Individual Subdomain Reputation: Each subdomain has a unique sending reputation that is independent of the main domain.
  • Early Issue Detection: Monitoring subdomains allows for the early detection and resolution of deliverability issues specific to each subdomain.
  • Separate Management: It's best practice to manage marketing and transactional emails using separate subdomains, which each need to be added to Google Postmaster Tools.
  • Authentication: Each subdomain needs its own SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.

Key considerations

  • Identify All Subdomains: Identify all subdomains used for sending emails, including those used for marketing, transactional, and other purposes.
  • Proper Verification: Verify each subdomain within Google Postmaster Tools to ensure accurate tracking and reporting.
  • DMARC Implementation: Implement and monitor DMARC policies for each subdomain to ensure proper authentication and reputation management.
  • Monitor Regularly: Regularly monitor the sending health of each subdomain in Google Postmaster Tools to proactively address any deliverability issues.
  • Use DMARC Data: Use DMARC data to determine if all subdomains are setup correctly.

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

The consensus across various email marketing experts and platforms is that it's crucial to add all subdomains to Google Postmaster Tools. Subdomains maintain separate reputations, and monitoring them individually provides a comprehensive view of email performance. This approach enables the early detection and resolution of deliverability issues specific to each subdomain, ensuring optimal email health and reputation.

Key opinions

  • Separate Reputations: Subdomains each have individual sending reputations, distinct from the main domain.
  • Comprehensive Monitoring: Adding all subdomains enables a complete overview of email performance.
  • Early Issue Detection: Monitoring subdomains allows for the early detection and resolution of deliverability issues.
  • Authentication Importance: Knowing which subdomains are used for authentication is critical for accurate tracking in Google Postmaster Tools.

Key considerations

  • DMARC Data: Utilize DMARC data to identify active subdomains for inclusion in Google Postmaster Tools.
  • Authentication Alignment: Ensure proper alignment of SPF and DKIM records for each subdomain to accurately track performance in Google Postmaster Tools.
  • Separate Subdomains: Consider using separate subdomains for marketing and transactional emails for better organization and deliverability management.
  • Proactive Issue Resolution: Regularly monitor subdomain performance in Google Postmaster Tools to identify and address deliverability issues promptly.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass Blog explains that adding each subdomain allows for tracking of individual sending reputations. As such, each subdomain needs to be added to Google Postmaster Tools in order to spot and resolve domain reputation issues.

December 2024 - Gmass Blog
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that it's important to know which domains/subdomains are used for authentication. Google Postmaster Tools 'groups' data by either the SPF or DKIM domain. Add all subdomains used for authentication purposes.

January 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus Blog shares that subdomains have their own email sending reputations which means that they should each be tracked separately within Google Postmaster Tools for accurate insights.

March 2023 - Litmus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailgun Blog explains that best practice is to use separate subdomains for marketing and transactional emails, and each of these subdomains should be added to Google Postmaster Tools to ensure optimal deliverability and reputation monitoring.

April 2021 - Mailgun Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Deliverability Forum mentions that tracking each subdomain in Google Postmaster Tools is vital for proper monitoring and diagnosis of email deliverability issues, as each subdomain’s performance is independent.

January 2022 - Email Deliverability Forum
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that domains and subdomains maintain separate reputations, so you'll want to add subdomains to Google Postmaster Tools.

March 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sender explains that each subdomain needs to be added to Google Postmaster Tools so you can assess the health of individual subdomains and fix any deliverability issues as soon as possible.

October 2022 - Sender.net
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog shares that it is recommended to verify and add subdomains to Google Postmaster Tools in order to achieve a full overview of all your email activities and to better monitor deliverability metrics.

November 2021 - Mailjet Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that each subdomain maintains its own reputation. Therefore, to get an accurate view of your overall email health, you should add each one to Google Postmaster Tools.

October 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stackoverflow user explains that adding subdomains to Google Postmaster Tools is essential for a complete view of your email performance, as it provides specific deliverability metrics for each subdomain.

October 2024 - Stackoverflow
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that yes, you need to add each subdomain to Google Postmaster Tools, and suggests using DMARC data to figure out the active subdomains.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from SparkPost Blog explains that subdomains each have their own reputation. To properly manage and monitor deliverability, especially for marketing vs. transactional emails, each sending subdomain should be added to Google Postmaster Tools.

November 2023 - SparkPost Blog

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

Experts agree that adding all subdomains used for sending emails to Google Postmaster Tools is essential for a complete understanding of your email program's reputation and sending health. This is because each subdomain possesses a unique reputation, making individual monitoring crucial for effectively tracking transactional and marketing emails.

Key opinions

  • Complete View: Adding all subdomains provides a complete view of your email program's reputation.
  • Unique Reputation: Each subdomain has a unique reputation, requiring individual monitoring.
  • Track Separately: Subdomains should be tracked separately, especially for transactional and marketing emails.

Key considerations

  • Subdomain Use: Identify all subdomains used for sending emails to ensure comprehensive monitoring.
  • Regular Monitoring: Implement a system to regularly monitor the sending health of each subdomain.
  • Reputation Tracking: Understand that different types of emails (transactional vs. marketing) might affect the reputation of their respective subdomains.
Expert view

Expert from Spamresource explains that each subdomain has a unique reputation; you should add each one to Google Postmaster Tools to fully monitor and understand its sending health.

December 2021 - Spamresource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that to get a complete view of your email program's reputation, adding all subdomains used for sending to Google Postmaster Tools is crucial. This allows you to track separate reputations for transactional and marketing emails.

August 2024 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Official documentation from Google, Microsoft, RFC, and DMARC.org consistently emphasizes the importance of adding each subdomain to Google Postmaster Tools. This is crucial for granular tracking of reputation metrics, gaining visibility into individual sending reputations, and managing email authentication separately. DMARC policies are applied independently to subdomains, further reinforcing the need for separate monitoring and management.

Key findings

  • Granular Tracking: Adding each subdomain allows for granular tracking of reputation metrics.
  • Separate Reputations: Subdomains have individual sending reputations that need to be monitored independently.
  • Independent DMARC Policies: DMARC policies apply to subdomains independently, requiring separate management.
  • Email Authentication: Individual SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for each subdomain.

Key considerations

  • Verification: Each subdomain must be verified separately within Google Postmaster Tools.
  • SPF Setup: Ensure proper SPF records are set up for each subdomain for email authentication.
  • Proactive Monitoring: Regularly monitor each subdomain for deliverability issues and reputation management.
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that subdomains are considered to be distinct entities, each capable of having unique SPF, DKIM and DMARC records. Managing email authentication seperately allows you to control each subdomain in Google Postmaster Tools

June 2021 - RFC-Editor
Technical article

Documentation from DMARC.org states that DMARC policies apply to subdomains independently, meaning each subdomain should be monitored and managed separately in Google Postmaster Tools for proper authentication and reputation management.

February 2024 - DMARC.org
Technical article

Documentation from Google states in its FAQ that you should add each subdomain to Postmaster Tools to gain visibility into its individual sending reputation. This separation is key for identifying and resolving issues specific to certain email streams.

February 2024 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Google Support explains that to monitor email performance for different parts of your infrastructure, add each subdomain in Postmaster Tools as a separate verified domain. This allows granular tracking of reputation metrics.

August 2022 - Google Support
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that the SPF record must be setup for each subdomain to ensure proper email authentication and to allow for granular reputation management within Google Postmaster Tools.

March 2023 - Microsoft Learn