Does implementing DMARC improve email deliverability and is DMARC p=none policy useful?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that DMARC, SPF, and DKIM work together to verify your email's authenticity, so it avoids the spam folder. This is not about DMARC alone, but how all 3 work together.
Email marketer from StackExchange responds that DMARC itself doesn't directly improve deliverability, but it provides a framework for using SPF and DKIM correctly, which in turn can enhance deliverability by reducing spoofing and phishing.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that DMARC will not improve deliverability and can damage it if implemented incorrectly. However, DKIM and SPF alignment, which DMARC relies on, is useful for deliverability. He clarifies that alignment means matching the 5321.From, 5322.From, and the DKIM signing domain.
Email marketer from Proofpoint mentions DMARC policy of p=none allows you to monitor your email channels without affecting deliverability. This helps to identify legitimate and illegitimate email sources using your domain, which is crucial for making informed decisions about your email authentication strategy.
Email marketer from Mailjet says DMARC doesn't directly improve email deliverability, but ensures that only legitimate emails are sent using your domain, preventing unauthorized use and protecting your sender reputation, which indirectly helps deliverability.
Email marketer from MXToolbox explains that DMARC's primary purpose is to prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks. It doesn't directly guarantee better deliverability but helps protect your domain's reputation, which is crucial for long-term deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks mentions that DMARC monitoring can reveal if each vendor is properly configured and aligned with SPF and DKIM. He also said that DMARC monitoring will NOT hurt your delivery.
Email marketer from EasyDMARC explains that a DMARC policy of p=none allows domain owners to gain visibility into their email ecosystem without taking immediate action against unauthorized senders, crucial for accurately assessing email sending sources.
Marketer from Email Geeks thinks DMARC p=none is useful for the data it provides, helping discover forgotten or rogue mail streams and confirm hackers. He has experienced the benefits of reporting only (p=none) outweighing the costs and finds it useful and actionable. He advocates caution when considering anything more aggressive than “reporting only” mode (p=none).
Email marketer from Reddit shares that setting DMARC to p=none is useful for getting reports to see who's sending emails using your domain. It won't affect deliverability but will provide valuable insights into potential unauthorized use. It is a monitoring state.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains DMARC doesn't directly improve delivery, but helps protect your brand/domain by letting mailbox providers know what to do with messages that fail authentication. It also gives domain owners data about who is sending mail using their domain.
Expert from Word to the Wise Team explains that a DMARC policy of p=none means you're only collecting data (reports). This allows you to see who is sending mail using your domain and where those messages are originating from, without impacting deliverability.
Expert from Email Geeks says that if the domains are yours and not the customers, you should not be telling them to implement DMARC. They cannot use DMARC if the SPF and DKIM domains are different from their domains.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft explains that DMARC prevents spammers from spoofing your domain. Setting up DMARC is crucial for organizations that want to protect their brand identity and ensure that their emails are delivered to the intended recipients.
Documentation from AuthSMTP says that DMARC uses the results from SPF and DKIM to determine if a message should be accepted. DMARC allows you to define policies to be applied to messages, based on these checks. However this article does not comment on improving deliverability
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC helps email senders protect their domains from unauthorized use, commonly known as email spoofing. By implementing DMARC, organizations can gain visibility into who is sending email on behalf of their domains and establish policies for handling messages that fail authentication.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that DMARC helps protect senders and recipients from spam and phishing by allowing senders to indicate that their emails are protected by SPF and DKIM, and tells recipients what to do if neither of those authentication methods passes. However, it doesn't directly state it improves deliverability but protects your domain's reputation.