To meet the challenges of enterprise email management, Google has announced essential guidelines for professionals sending more than 5,000 messages per day to Gmail accounts.
This article aims to guide Google Workspace administrators through these new requirements, effective from February 2024, to ensure smooth and secure communication.
Email Authentication and Good Sending Practices
From February 2024 onwards, all outgoing emails exceeding 5,000 messages per day to Gmail must be authenticated.
This means implementing SPF or DKIM authentication for your domain and using a TLS connection for email transmission.
Requirements for All Shippers
- SPF or DKIM Authentication: Essential for verifying the origin of emails and protecting against spoofing.
- Valid DNS records: Make sure your sending domains and IPs have authentic forward and reverse DNS records.
- TLS connection: Secure email transmission by configuring TLS in Google Workspace.
- Minimum Spam Rate: Maintain a spam rate of less than 0.10% in Google Postmaster Tools and avoid reaching 0.30% or more.
- RFC 5322 formatting: Your messages must comply with the Internet message formatting standard.
For High Volume Shippers
Senders of more than 5,000 daily messages must also :
- Configure DMARC for their sending domain, enabling a flexible application policy.
- Align the domain in the "From:" header with the SPF or DKIM domain to pass DMARC alignment.
- Provide a one-click unsubscribe option for marketing messages.
Safety improvements and prevention
- DMARC: Configure DMARC to instruct receiving servers on how to handle messages that fail SPF or DKIM authentication.
- ARC for Forwarded Emails: Use ARC authentication to maintain the authentication status of forwarded messages.
Infrastructure configuration
- IP addresses: Each sending IP address must have a PTR record corresponding to your domain.
- Shared IPs: Monitor the reputation of your shared IP to avoid negative impacts on your delivery rate.
Tips for IT Managers
- Active Monitoring: Use Google Postmaster Tools to monitor the performance and reputation of your emails.
- Gradual increase in dispatch volume: Avoid sudden peaks in dispatch volume to minimize delivery problems.
Summary
Proactive adoption of these guidelines will not only improve your deliverability, but also enhance the security and reliability of your email communications.
IT managers and decision-makers are encouraged to incorporate these practices well in advance of the February 2024 deadline to ensure a smooth transition and maintain effective communication with Gmail users.
