As 2023 winds down and we start thinking about our 2024 goals, there’s a big new directive from Google and Yahoo that marketers will need to understand and prepare for. We’re talking about the new Gmail and Yahoo email delivery requirements taking effect in February 2024. These changes (announced in October) are aimed at minimizing spam and phishing emails with the intention of improving the overall experience of Gmail and Yahoo Mail subscribers.

Both email giants will be implementing (and enforcing) stricter email authentication standards to enhance the overall security of their platforms, and improve the user experience by ensuring a cleaner, more relevant inbox. In doing so, Google and Yahoo are not only maintaining the integrity of their platforms, but they’re also aligning with global trends in data privacy and security regulations, which is becoming increasingly important in the digital space.

What these changes mean for email marketers

Change can be hard and these sound kind of challenging. But, our advice is to keep calm and carry on because if you’re already following best practices (and, of course, you are!) for sending marketing emails, aligning with the new requirements will be no big deal.

Here’s a look at what’s changing, how Acoustic is addressing the changes, and helpful tips so you can continue sending emails without disruption.

1. Review setup and ensure domain authentication

What’s changing: Starting February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo will require domain-aligned authentication with DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework), and they will be enforcing DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) policies. Wow, could we throw more acronyms at you?! That’s a long way to say that these new protocols will offer an added layer of email security that helps prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks. And that, my friends, is a win for humanity!

How Acoustic has you covered: As part of our domain provisioning process, we automatically set up SPF, DKIM, and PTR for Acoustic-hosted customer domains and we will add a DMARC record into your DNS. We’re also actively in the process of validating all of our customers’ DKIM keys and making sure they’re technically compliant with the new standards.

For customer domains NOT hosted by Acoustic, senders will be required to set up DMARC. For further details on DMARC policy, and how to validate compliance or setup, please read our DMARC help article here. If you require consulting services for DMARC, contact your Acoustic Customer Success Manager for details on our Deliverability Services offerings.

2. Setup easy unsubscribe

What’s changing: Marketing messages and subscribed messages must support one-click unsubscribe (through list-unsubscribe in the email headers) and include a clearly visible unsubscribe link (per global spam laws) in the message body to allow email recipients an easy way to opt out of mailings. Additionally, Gmail and Yahoo will require senders to process the unsubscribe request within two days. Global legislation can vary on the length of time required to honor an unsubscribe request. Pro tip: We recommend addressing requests to be removed as soon as possible to help protect your sending reputation.

How Acoustic has you covered: Acoustic supports one click unsubscribe via headers for emails that have secure links and images (SSL). If your company’s sending domain is not setup with SSL (think: https links), Acoustic will reach out to begin the setup process.

3. Monitor spam rates

What’s changing: Spam rate thresholds will be enforced with a maximum complaint rate of 0.3%. If you consistently send emails with a high spam rate, your messages may be rejected or sent to the spam folder.

How Acoustic has you covered: We can help ensure you are sending emails to your most active and engaged customers. The best way to do this is by keeping content relevant to your intended audience and setting expectations with them so they’re looking for messages to come through. For those sending to Gmail, you can use Google Postmaster Tools to monitor reputation and spam compliance rates. More instructions on how to setup Google postmaster for Acoustic-hosted domains and client hosted domains is available here.

The good news about these changes is that they offer marketers an opportunity to refine strategies, enhance security, and build stronger relationships with customers. Even better news: the Acoustic team is here to help you prepare and roll with these changes so that every email gets delivered in the new year. For more detailed information and steps to follow to meet the new requirements, please visit our help center and DMARC articles.