Why does Google Postmaster Tools report SPF failures for ActiveCampaign sends even when SPF passes?

Email marketer from Mailhardener.com explains that the reason for this is that ActiveCampaign uses its own MAIL FROM domain to send emails on your behalf, which may pass the SPF check because they are an allowed sender for that domain, but this does not align with your domain. Google Postmaster Tools considers this lack of alignment an SPF failure, even if SPF technically passes.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that spikes in SPF failures in Google Postmaster Tools (GPT) are usually due to a lack of SPF alignment.

Email marketer from Quora answers that the problem arises from the way ActiveCampaign handles email sending. While SPF passes technically, it's not aligned. Google Postmaster Tools factors in both SPF pass and alignment for its metrics, so a non-aligned SPF setup results in failures being reported, even if the email is delivered.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Google Postmaster Tools shows 0% success for SPF because the SPF domain being checked (ActiveCampaign's mail server domain) is not the same as the domain being shown in the report (the client's domain), even if SPF is passing. The spike is likely because the domain is used by both ActiveCampaign and another email provider. On days when it's not used with ActiveCampaign, it shows 100% success. When used with ActiveCampaign, it shows 100% failure due to the lack of alignment.

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid's community shares that the key is understanding that Postmaster Tools is more strict. ActiveCampaign's SPF pass isn't enough; it needs full DMARC compliance, including SPF alignment. If you're not aligning, GPT will show failures.

Email marketer from Stackoverflow answers that the root cause is the mismatch between the envelope sender (MAIL FROM) domain and the header From domain. ActiveCampaign may be authorized to send, but the alignment check (required for DMARC) fails, causing Postmaster Tools to report an SPF failure.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that SPF authentication passing is only part of the deliverability equation. DMARC alignment, specifically with SPF, is also required. ActiveCampaign may be sending emails that pass SPF, but the SPF domain doesn't align with the 'From' domain. This results in DMARC failing SPF alignment and Google Postmaster Tools reporting SPF failures.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that sometimes when traffic for the domain via an SPF-aligned stream is low, Google Postmaster Tools might only count traffic from the non-aligned stream, leading to reported SPF failures specifically from ActiveCampaign traffic.

Email marketer from EmailGeekForum responds that ActiveCampaign's shared IPs could contribute. If other users sharing the IP have SPF issues, it can impact overall reputation and trigger failure reports, even when your individual SPF record is correct but lacks alignment.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that ActiveCampaign uses its own sending infrastructure, and while SPF records authorize ActiveCampaign to send emails on your behalf, the 'From' address in your email does not align, leading to the reported failure in Google Postmaster Tools due to DMARC policy requirements for alignment.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a common cause for this issue is related to SPF alignment. ActiveCampaign might be sending emails on your behalf, and while the SPF record on their side passes the authentication check, it might not align with your domain. This misalignment is flagged by Google Postmaster Tools.

Documentation from Microsoft shares that if the SPF authentication passes, but the MAIL FROM address does not align with the domain in the From header, DMARC will fail. This means that while the email might still be delivered, it won't pass DMARC authentication checks, which can negatively impact deliverability, and be reported as an error in systems that track such things.

Documentation from Valimail explains that even if SPF authentication passes, DMARC alignment is also required, which means that the domain used to authenticate (the MAIL FROM domain in the SPF check) must match the domain used in the From header of the email. If these domains don't match, DMARC will fail, and Google Postmaster Tools will report an SPF failure due to the lack of alignment.

Documentation from DMARC Analyzer explains that SPF alignment failures occur when the domain used for the SPF check (the MAIL FROM domain) doesn't match the domain in the 'From' header. Even if the SPF check passes because the sending server is authorized for the MAIL FROM domain, Google Postmaster Tools flags it as a failure if the domains don't align.

Documentation from Google Support explains that SPF alignment is crucial. Even if SPF passes, a failure to align with the domain in the 'From' address will be reported as an SPF failure in Postmaster Tools. This occurs because Postmaster Tools evaluates alignment, not just a basic SPF pass/fail.

Documentation from RFC defines SPF as authenticating the MAIL FROM address. It highlights that an SPF pass alone is insufficient for DMARC compliance; alignment with the 'From' header is essential. Postmaster Tools reflects this DMARC requirement by reporting alignment failures, even with a valid SPF record for the sending service.