Sending domains, SPF, DKIM and DMARC
What a sending domain is, what SPF, DKIM and DMARC mean in plain words, and where Adapt shows their result.
A sending domain is the part of the email address after the @. If you send from jess@oakfield-it.example, the sending domain is oakfield-it.example. Receiving servers judge your email partly by whether that domain has proven it is allowed to send.
The four checks in plain words
| Check | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| SPF | A list on your domain of the servers allowed to send for it. |
| DKIM | A signature your mail provider adds so a receiver can see the email was not changed on the way. |
| DMARC | A policy that tells receivers what to do when SPF and DKIM fail. |
| MX | The records that say where your domain receives mail. A domain with none looks wrong. |
These are set at the company that holds your domain, usually through your mail provider's setup guide. Adapt does not change them.
Where Adapt shows them
- In a campaign, Run spam check looks at the sending domains of the mailboxes you chose and lists SPF, DMARC, MX and DKIM for each. A fail on SPF, DMARC or MX stops the check passing. A DKIM result is shown but is not what fails it. See The spam check and the copy rules.
- On the dashboard, the Deliverability panel shows each domain's latest result with a tick, a cross or a dash for not checked.
Why it matters
A new domain with no authentication and no warm-up is the most common reason cold email lands in spam. Sending from a separate domain, not your main company one, keeps your main domain's reputation safe if a campaign goes wrong.
What does not exist yet
Custom tracking domains and domain checks in Settings are marked Not available yet. Opens and clicks are not tracked, so a tracking domain is not needed.