Sound familiar? A team member sends an important proposal. The client says they never received it — or worse, it went straight to junk. You've no idea why. And it's probably been happening to other emails too.
If your business emails are ending up in junk folders, the cause is almost always the same thing: your domain's DNS settings aren't configured correctly. Specifically, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC — the three email authentication records that tell receiving mail servers your emails are genuine.
It sounds technical. It isn't really. And getting it sorted makes a significant difference to whether your business communications actually land where they're supposed to.
Why Emails Go to Junk in the First Place
Mail servers are cautious by design. When your email arrives at a recipient's server (Gmail, Outlook, or any corporate email system), that server runs a quick check: "Is this email actually from who it claims to be?"
If the answer is unclear — because your domain doesn't have the right authentication records — the email gets flagged as suspicious. Sometimes it's quarantined silently. Sometimes it goes to junk. Sometimes it's rejected entirely, and you never know.
This isn't about whether your content looks spammy. It's about whether your domain proves it's a legitimate sender.
The Three Records That Fix It
There are three DNS records that work together to authenticate your email:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — A list of which mail servers are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain. If an email arrives from a server not on this list, it's a red flag.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — A cryptographic signature added to every outgoing email. Recipients can verify the signature to confirm the email hasn't been tampered with and genuinely came from your domain.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication) — The policy layer. It tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM checks fail: ignore it, quarantine it, or reject it outright. It also gives you reporting so you can see what's happening.
The good news: Setting up all three is an IT task that takes a couple of hours. It doesn't require new software. It doesn't cost anything beyond IT time. And once it's done, it's done — your emails get through, and criminals can't impersonate your domain either.
What Happens Without These Records
Without SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly configured, two things happen:
- Your emails get treated with suspicion — they're more likely to land in junk, get quarantined, or be rejected entirely by cautious corporate mail systems
- Your domain can be spoofed — criminals can send emails that appear to come from your address, targeting your clients and suppliers with phishing attacks
The spoofing risk is real. If your domain isn't protected with DMARC, there's nothing stopping someone from sending convincing emails pretending to be you — changing bank details, requesting urgent payments, or poisoning your client relationships. And you'd never know until the damage was done.
How to Check Where You Stand
Before calling your IT team, it's worth knowing what's actually missing. You can check your domain's email security configuration for free — it takes about 60 seconds.
The check will tell you:
- Whether you have an SPF record, and whether it's valid
- Whether DKIM is configured
- Whether you have a DMARC policy — and whether it's actually enforcing anything (many businesses have a DMARC record set to "none," which does nothing to protect them)
Ben's Take: What Leaders Need to Know
I talk to a lot of MDs and directors who assume their IT provider has "sorted" email. In practice, a lot of businesses have partial setups — SPF is there, but DMARC is on "monitor only" and never gets tightened up. Or DKIM isn't configured at all.
The result: emails that should reach clients don't, and your domain remains vulnerable to impersonation. Both problems are fixable. Neither requires anything complicated. But they do require someone to prioritise it.
The first step is knowing your current position. Run the free check, see what's missing, and then have an informed conversation with whoever manages your IT. It's a 20-minute fix that pays for itself the first time an important email actually lands in someone's inbox.
Is Your Domain Protected — or Still Vulnerable?
Check your email authentication setup in 60 seconds. Find out if your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are configured correctly — and whether your domain could be used to spoof emails to your clients.
Check My Domain Free Book a Call with Ben →Want someone to review your setup and tell you exactly what needs fixing? Book a 20-minute call with Ben Richards at SecureMyEmails. No sales pressure — just clarity on where you stand and what to do next.
Originally published on: Good Choice IT
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