What are the best practices for using SPF flatteners and managing SPF records?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from GlockApps responds that using dynamic SPF records, which automatically update IP addresses, can simplify SPF management for organizations with frequently changing IP infrastructure. This reduces the need for manual updates and prevents deliverability issues caused by outdated SPF records.
Email marketer from SparkPost shares that exceeding the SPF record lookup limit can negatively impact email deliverability and sender reputation. They recommend using SPF flattening techniques to reduce the number of DNS lookups and stay within the limit.
Email marketer from dmarcian responds that implementing monitoring tools for your SPF records is critical. Monitoring can help identify unauthorized sending sources, detect SPF misconfigurations, and track changes to your SPF record over time.
Email marketer from MailerCheck shares that testing the SPF record is an important step. By using a free SPF record checker, you can identify and resolve issues like syntax errors, exceeding lookup limits and incorrect configuration.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that using SPF flattening services can simplify SPF management, but it's important to choose a reliable provider with good uptime. They recommend reading reviews and checking the provider's service level agreement (SLA) before committing.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that they've used the SPF flattener by onDMARC and it worked great. They also suggest moving to using subdomains as an alternative.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that regularly auditing your SPF record is essential. This includes removing outdated or unnecessary includes and ensuring that all authorized sending sources are properly listed. This helps maintain deliverability and prevent spoofing.
Email marketer from EasyDMARC Blog explains that SPF flattening helps organizations stay within the SPF record lookup limit, preventing email deliverability issues caused by too many DNS lookups. It simplifies SPF record management by consolidating multiple includes into a single, manageable record.
Email marketer from AuthSMTP explains to keep your list of servers and services that can send on behalf of your domain up to date. Using `include:` for third-party services, but remove them promptly when they are no longer authorized to send email for your domain.
Email marketer from StackOverflow responds that a good approach is to keep the number of includes to a minimum and only include the domains that are absolutely necessary. If you have many services ensure they are all valid and needed.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that SPF flatteners are not ideal, especially with DMARC enforcing policies, because they introduce a single point of failure. He suggests using a service that reloads the record and paying for a service with an SLA if using as an interim measure. Optimizing current SPF or moving to a subdomain should be the goal.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that while SPF flattening can help with the 10-lookup limit, it's important to understand the underlying cause of the problem. Sometimes, it's better to optimize the existing SPF record or delegate sending to subdomains rather than relying solely on flattening.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that many companies add SPF records to the wrong domain. SPF works off the 5321.from, which for bulk mail is almost never your main domain. She recommends removing includes for ESPs and ensuring the ESP SPF record is for the domain used for bounces.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC Editor outlines the technical specifications for SPF records, including syntax, mechanisms, and qualifiers. It details how SPF works to authenticate email sources and prevent email spoofing.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that when using Microsoft 365, including the appropriate SPF record is crucial to ensure email deliverability. They provide the recommended SPF record syntax for Microsoft 365 and outline best practices for managing SPF records in their environment.
Documentation from OpenSPF outlines the technical specifications for SPF, detailing its mechanisms, qualifiers, and record syntax. It includes information on how SPF interacts with other email authentication methods like DKIM and DMARC.
Documentation from DNS Records explains how to understand SPF authentication failures, detailing the different result codes (e.g., Pass, Fail, SoftFail, Neutral) and their implications. It also provides guidance on troubleshooting SPF issues and improving email deliverability.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that SPF records have a lookup limit of 10 DNS lookups. Exceeding this limit can cause SPF authentication to fail, resulting in emails being marked as spam or rejected. They advise minimizing the number of include statements.