How does DMARC impact email deliverability, and what are the pros and cons of using it?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains a potential con of a DMARC reject policy. If you have legitimate email sources that aren't properly authenticated, a 'p=reject' policy could cause those emails to be blocked, impacting legitimate communications.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that DMARC is a key component of email deliverability best practices. They recommend starting with a policy of 'p=none' to monitor your email traffic before moving to more restrictive policies like 'p=quarantine' or 'p=reject'.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that DMARC helps mailbox providers identify legitimate email from your domain, improving inbox placement. Implementing DMARC correctly can significantly reduce the chances of your emails being marked as spam.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that there is not currently a harsh punishment for not participating in DMARC. DMARC is not a deliverability protocol but an anti-fraud protocol for large brands which offers benefits like BIMI eligibility.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that setting up DMARC can be challenging, especially understanding the reporting and interpreting the data. They share that many organizations struggle with monitoring DMARC reports and identifying legitimate sending sources.
Email marketer from SparkPost shares that implementing DMARC provides increased visibility into who is sending email on behalf of your domain, allowing you to identify and prevent unauthorized sending. It also protects recipients from phishing attacks and improves brand reputation.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that by implementing DMARC and protecting your domain from abuse, you can increase the ROI of your email marketing campaigns. Ensuring that your emails reach the inbox is crucial for generating leads, driving sales, and building customer loyalty.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that DMARC can significantly improve your brand reputation by protecting recipients from email scams such as phishing. By implementing DMARC you can build trust with your customers, which increases the chances of your emails reaching the inbox.
Email marketer from Postmark shares the importance of carefully deploying DMARC in stages, starting with 'p=none', then 'p=quarantine', and finally 'p=reject' to avoid unintended consequences. Monitor DMARC reports throughout the deployment process.
Email marketer from Quora shares that even small businesses should implement DMARC to protect their brand and customers from email fraud. Even if they don't send many marketing emails, DMARC can prevent scammers from spoofing their domain for phishing attacks.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that p= is just a suggestion to the receiver, and they can do what they want with it, but most receivers follow the suggestion. SPF/DKIM/DMARC are authentication tools, not anti-spam tools, though they do help.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that DMARC provides increased visibility into email streams and allows domain owners to specify how mailbox providers should handle unauthenticated mail, helping improve deliverability and protect their brand reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that publishing an enforcing DMARC record probably won't affect deliverability much for authenticated emails, but will damage deliverability for non-authenticated emails. Filters may use the presence of a DMARC record as one of many data points.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that DMARC allows the domain owner to publish a policy that tells recipient systems how to handle messages that fail authentication checks, reducing successful phishing attacks and helping to prevent domain name spoofing.
Expert from Email Geeks notes there's a discussion about whether BIMI, which requires DMARC, benefits deliverability, but there's no current data to suggest it does.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that having DMARC-aligned DKIM and/or SPF authentication is a positive signal for deliverability.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC helps protect your domain from unauthorized use, such as spoofing and phishing attacks. It also improves deliverability by signaling to email providers that your emails are legitimate.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that DMARC helps Office 365 customers protect themselves from phishing and spoofing attacks. By implementing DMARC, organizations can specify how Office 365 should handle emails that fail authentication checks.
Documentation from ReturnPath explains that DMARC reporting provides valuable insights into your email ecosystem, including information about sending sources, authentication results, and potential spoofing activity. Analyzing DMARC reports helps identify and address deliverability issues.
Documentation from RFC Editor (RFC 7489) details the DMARC specification, explaining how DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM to provide a framework for email authentication policies and reporting, helping email receivers handle unauthenticated email messages.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that DMARC lets senders indicate that their emails are protected by SPF and/or DKIM, and tells receivers what to do if neither of those authentication methods passes – such as junk or reject the message. DMARC helps receivers know that the sender is legitimate, and that the message they received isn't spoofed.