Why Your Website Emails Are Landing in Spam: How DMARC Protects Your Australian Business Domain

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: Why Your Website Emails Are Landing in Spam: How DMARC Protects Your Australian Business Domain. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

If your customers are telling you they never received your quote, or your website contact form emails are disappearing into junk folders, your domain may be failing email authentication checks. Spam filters from Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail now expect proof that an email actually came from your domain. Without these records, legitimate business messages are often flagged as suspicious or rejected entirely.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) works alongside SPF and DKIM to tell receiving mail servers how to handle messages that fail authentication. Implementing it correctly protects your domain from spoofing and improves the deliverability of your genuine business emails.

Quick Fix Steps

1. Check your current DNS records for existing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC entries.
2. Ensure SPF and DKIM are correctly configured for your mail provider.
3. Add a DMARC TXT record to your domain’s DNS zone.
4. Allow up to 48 hours for DNS propagation across Australian and global servers.
5. Test email delivery to Gmail, Outlook, and Apple iCloud addresses.

Detailed Instructions

1. Review Your Existing DNS Records

Log in to your domain registrar or DNS hosting control panel. Look for the DNS management or zone editor section. Search for existing TXT records beginning with v=spf1 and v=DMARC1. If you use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, your provider will list the required SPF values in their admin documentation.

2. Configure SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF identifies which mail servers are permitted to send email on behalf of your domain. Add or edit a TXT record at your root domain (@) with a value similar to:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

Replace the include mechanism with the one specified by your email provider. If you send mail from multiple services, include them all in a single SPF record rather than creating multiple SPF records.

3. Configure DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds a digital signature to your outgoing emails. In your email admin console (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, or similar), enable DKIM signing for your domain. The system will generate a public key that you must add as a TXT or CNAME record in your DNS, typically under a selector subdomain such as default._domainkey.yourdomain.com.au.

4. Add a DMARC Record

Create a new TXT record with the host name _dmarc (your control panel may append the domain automatically). Use a conservative starting policy:

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]

• p=none tells receiving servers to monitor failures without blocking mail.
• rua specifies where aggregate reports are sent.

Once you confirm legitimate mail is passing authentication, you can tighten the policy to p=quarantine or p=reject.

5. Allow for Propagation

DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to 48 hours to propagate globally. Australian ISPs and international mail filters may cache records differently, so test from multiple networks and devices.

6. Test Deliverability

Send test emails from your domain to personal Gmail, Outlook.com, and Apple iCloud accounts. Check whether they land in the inbox or spam folder. You can also inspect the message headers in the receiving mail client to confirm SPF, DKIM, and DMARC passed.

Troubleshooting

Emails Still Landing in Spam

• Confirm there is only one SPF record for your domain. Multiple SPF records will cause authentication to fail.
• Check that your website’s contact form is sending through an authenticated SMTP service, not the web server’s default mail() function.
• Review DMARC aggregate reports to identify unauthorised senders using your domain.

DMARC Record Not Detected

• Ensure the record is published at _dmarc.yourdomain.com.au, not at the root domain.
• Use a DNS lookup tool to verify the TXT record is publicly visible.
• If you recently changed web hosting or DNS settings, confirm your domain’s nameservers point to the control panel where you added the record.

Website Contact Form Emails Failing

Many Australian small business websites send form submissions via the web server. If your web settings change or your domain’s MX records are updated, these emails may fail authentication. Configure your website to send via an authenticated SMTP account matching your domain, or route form submissions through your business email suite.

Still Having Issues?