If you’re sending marketing emails, your email authentication setup—specifically SPF, DKIM, and DMARC—is mission critical. These settings help prove that your emails really come from you, not a spammer impersonating you. If they’re not set up properly, your emails might go straight to the spam folder… or never get delivered at all.
The good news?
You don’t need to be super technical to check if everything’s working. You can do it in just a few minutes using tools I personally use and recommend.
🛠️ Method 1: MXToolBox Email Deliverability Test
🔗 Tool: MXToolbox Deliverability Tool
✅ Pros:
- Super fast
- Also checks if you’re blacklisted anywhere (bonus!)
⚠️ Cons:
- You must be able to receive emails at your sending address
How to Use It:
- Send an email from the system you want to test to:
[email protected] - Wait around 60 seconds
- You’ll get an email back with a big red link. Click it.
- Your full Email Deliverability Report will open
What You Want to See:
Under Delivery Information, check for ✅ green checkmarks next to all of these:
- DMARC Compliant
- SPF Alignment
- SPF Authenticated
- DKIM Alignment
- DKIM Authenticated
🔴 Bad Result Example:
- SPF and DKIM both pass authentication but fail alignment
- DMARC fails because neither SPF nor DKIM both passed and aligned
✅ Perfect Result Example:
- SPF and DKIM both pass AND align
- DMARC passes because at least one of them aligned
🧪 Method 2: DMARCtester.com (formerly LearnDmarc.com)
🔗 Tool: DMARCtester.com
✅ Pros:
- Offers clear explanations of how SPF, DKIM, and DMARC work
- Great if you want to understand what’s going on behind the scenes
⚠️ Cons:
- Slightly more reading (but worth it!)
How to Use It:
- Go to DMARCtester.com
- Copy the one-time-use email address shown
- Send an email from the system you want to test to that address
- Wait a few seconds, and the website will break down your authentication setup
✅ You can click “Fast Forward” to skip to the summary if you’re short on time
Interpreting the Results:
🟡 Acceptable Result:
- SPF failed but DKIM passed → DMARC passes
- You’re still good!
🔴 Failing Result:
- Both SPF and DKIM fail → DMARC fails
- You’ll need to fix your DNS records
✅ Perfect Result:
- Both SPF and DKIM pass
- DMARC passes — you’re golden!
💡 Final Thoughts
Running these checks every once in a while is a smart move, especially if you’re launching new campaigns or switching platforms. It only takes a few minutes, and it can save you from poor deliverability and lost revenue.
Need help interpreting your results or fixing your DNS records?
👉 At Omnify X, we help brands like yours stay compliant, optimise deliverability, and get more emails opened.
Let’s chat! Contact us here if you’d like a quick audit.