What are BIMI best practices for domain setup and VMC implementation?

Email marketer from OnlyB2B.com answers that in a B2B context, BIMI can significantly enhance brand recognition and build trust with potential clients. Displaying a verified logo in the inbox helps to cut through the clutter and assures recipients that the email is legitimate and from a trusted source.

Email marketer from Reddit.com suggests that when choosing a VMC provider, consider factors such as price, ease of application, and support. While the end result (the VMC itself) is functionally the same, the experience of obtaining it can vary. They recommend comparing the application processes and customer support offerings of different providers.

Marketer from Email Geeks points out that using `sp=none;` will not work for BIMI implementation, indicating a stricter policy is needed.

Email marketer from Mailosaur.com responds that after setting up BIMI, it's important to monitor its performance. Keep an eye on email deliverability metrics, such as open rates and click-through rates, to assess the impact of BIMI on your email marketing campaigns. Also, use BIMI validators to check for any errors.

Email marketer from EmailDrips shares advice for testing your BIMI implementation by utilizing free online BIMI validators and sending test emails to different email providers like Gmail and Yahoo. These tools will assist you in identifying any setup problems before a full rollout.

Email marketer from Litmus.com emphasizes that BIMI requires a DMARC policy of `p=quarantine` or `p=reject`. This ensures that only authenticated emails are delivered, protecting your brand and recipients from spoofing and phishing attacks. This is a strict requirement to implement BIMI, and there are no exceptions.

Email marketer from ZeroBounce.net explains that the steps to implement BIMI are: 1. Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are configured correctly. 2. Create a compliant SVG logo. 3. Obtain a VMC. 4. Publish the BIMI DNS record.

Marketer from Email Geeks notes that there is no functional difference between VMC providers from Google's perspective, but application, implementation, and support processes may vary.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that VMCs provide logo display and verification at Google, Apple, Onet (Poland), and Zone (Estonia) domains. He provides links to Kickbox and Spamresource for reference. He also mentions testing on Yahoo without a VMC is possible, and provides a link for their BIMI requirements.

Email marketer from StackOverflow.com advises that when hosting your SVG logo, ensure the server is configured to serve the file with the correct MIME type (`image/svg+xml`). Also, the URL must be accessible via HTTPS to comply with security requirements.

Email marketer from SparkPost.com responds that implementing BIMI can improve brand recognition and trust by displaying your logo next to your email in the inbox. This visual cue can help recipients quickly identify and trust your messages, leading to increased engagement and open rates.

Email marketer from Mailjet.com shares that setting up BIMI involves ensuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured for your domain. They emphasize that DMARC must be set to `p=quarantine` or `p=reject` for BIMI to function properly. They also highlight the necessity of a VMC for Gmail and other supporting providers.

Marketer from Email Geeks confirms that a VMC at the root domain will inherit to all compliant subdomains.

Expert from Word to the Wise responds by advising close collaboration between marketing and IT teams during BIMI implementation to ensure all technical requirements are met. Ensuring SPF, DKIM and DMARC are configured properly is very important and often where the BIMI implementation fails.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that BIMI support is steadily increasing among mailbox providers. He highlights that while Gmail requires a VMC, other providers like Yahoo offer BIMI support without a VMC for senders with a strong reputation and adherence to their guidelines.

Documentation from Entrust.com specifies the SVG logo used for BIMI must meet certain requirements. It must be a vector graphic, properly scaled, and free of any embedded links or scripts. Ensure the SVG is accessible via HTTPS.

Documentation from Yahoo explains that Yahoo supports BIMI without the requirement of a VMC if you meet their requirements for authentication and reputation. Senders must meet a high sending reputation by following all of Yahoo's guidelines to be able to test BIMI without paying for a VMC.

Documentation from BIMI Group details the exact structure of the BIMI DNS record. The 'v' tag specifies the version of BIMI, the 'l' tag contains the URL of the brand logo in SVG format, and the 'a' tag contains the URL of the authentication authority. Ensure that the record is correctly formatted to comply with BIMI standards. The record MUST be a TXT record and placed under the `default._bimi` selector

Documentation from Digicert.com specifies that a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) is required to display your logo in Gmail and other email clients that support BIMI. The VMC verifies your ownership of the logo and ensures it meets the necessary security standards. It also specifies the VMC provider needs to be an approved certification authority

Documentation from Valimail.com explains that the BIMI DNS record should be placed under the selector `default._bimi`, and it should contain the location of the SVG image of your logo. The record format is a TXT record with the value `v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/logo.svg; a=;` where `l` is the URL of the SVG logo and `a` is an optional field for the location of the Authentication Record for Verified Mark Certificates (VMC).

Documentation from Google specifies that for BIMI to work with Gmail, senders must authenticate their emails with SPF and DKIM. Senders must use DMARC to specify how to handle unauthenticated messages. For BIMI to display the sender's logo in Gmail, the DMARC policy must be set to p=quarantine or p=reject.