Full Domain Alignment

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How to achieve Full Domain Alignment

Introduction

Full Domain Alignment is a key aspect of email authentication that helps improve your sender reputation and ensures your emails reach the inbox of your recipients rather than being marked as spam. This process ensures that all domains involved in sending an email share the same root domain. With important changes coming to email authentication from major providers like Gmail and Yahoo in February 2024, it is crucial for all ActiveCampaign users to understand and implement Full Domain Alignment.

Achieving Full Domain Alignment requires setting up your DKIM and SPF authentication correctly, which provides confidence to email providers about the authenticity of the sender. By aligning these domains, you show that you are taking measures to safeguard your sending reputation, making it an important practice for marketers.

How to access this feature

To access the settings needed for Full Domain Alignment, you should navigate to the Account Settings within your ActiveCampaign account where email authentication settings are located. This feature is available for all marketing plan levels including Starter, Plus, Pro, and Enterprise.

Step-by-step instructions

Follow these steps to achieve Full Domain Alignment in ActiveCampaign:

1. **Set up your Sending Domain**:

  - Go to your Account Settings and navigate to the Email Authentication section.
  - Add your sending domain by following the instructions provided in the guide on setting up a sending domain in ActiveCampaign. 

2. **Configure DKIM**:

  - During the sending domain setup, you will be prompted to configure the DKIM for your From Domain. This allows email providers to verify the authenticity of the emails you send. 

3. **Set up a Mailserver Domain**:

  - Ensure you set up a Mailserver Domain that matches your From Domain. This domain is used for handling error messages and bounces and is critical for achieving full alignment. 
  

4. **Verify your setup**:

  - After completing these setups, verify that the domains align as expected. A verification tool may be provided within your ActiveCampaign account to check the status of your email authentication configurations.

Configuration options and settings

While configuring Full Domain Alignment, you will encounter the following options:

- Sending Domain: Your primary domain from which emails will be sent. - DKIM: A cryptographic signature that verifies the authenticity of your emails. - Mailserver Domain: The domain used for SPF authentication and bounce handling.

Make sure that both the DKIM and Mailserver Domain are set to share the same root domain as your sending domain for full alignment.

Best practices and tips

- Regularly check your DKIM and SPF records using a verification tool to ensure they are correctly configured. - Monitor your sending reputation and make adjustments to your authentication practices as necessary. - Consider setting up both DKIM and SPF to enhance your email deliverability, even though only DKIM alignment is strictly required by email providers. - Familiarize yourself with the difference between a custom domain name and a Mailserver Domain to avoid common pitfalls.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with achieving Full Domain Alignment, consider the following troubleshooting tips: - Review your DKIM and SPF records for correctness - even a small typo can cause alignment failures. - Ensure that you have correctly set up your Mailserver Domain. - Check that the domains involved are indeed sharing the same root domain and that there are no discrepancies.

Related features

- Authentication - DKIM - SPF - Sending Domain

FAQ

1. What is Full Domain Alignment?

Full Domain Alignment occurs when all the domains used in your email (such as the From domain, DKIM signing domain, and Mailserver domain) share the same root domain.

2. Why is Full Domain Alignment important?

It is crucial because it helps improve sender reputation and ensures that your emails are more likely to reach inboxes instead of being marked as spam.

3. Is Full Domain Alignment mandatory?

While basic DKIM alignment is required starting February 2024, achieving full alignment through SPF and Mailserver Domain is not mandatory but recommended for enhanced email deliverability.

4. How can I check if my alignment is correct?

You can use verification tools provided in your ActiveCampaign account to check the compliance of your DKIM and SPF records.

5. What happens if my domains do not align?

If your domains do not align, your emails may suffer from poor deliverability rates and may be filtered into spam folders by email providers.

6. How do I set up DKIM in ActiveCampaign?

You can set up DKIM while adding your sending domain in the Email Authentication settings of your ActiveCampaign account.

7. Where can I find additional resources about email authentication?

You can refer to the ActiveCampaign blog for information on Google and Yahoo authentication changes, as well as guides on setting up your DKIM and Mailserver domains.

For more information on authentication changes and policies, refer to our [our blog post](https://www.activecampaign.com/blog/a-guide-to-google-and-yahoo-authentication-changes-in-2024). ```