--- title: "Stop your emails from landing in spam folders with trusted email authentication | DuoCircle" description: "Stop your emails from landing in spam folders with trusted email authentication." image: "https://www.duocircle.com/images/og-default.png" canonical: "https://www.duocircle.com/blog/email-services/stop-emails-landing-in-spam-folders-trusted-email-authentication-techniques/" --- Quick Answer Around 17 percent of legitimate marketing emails miss the inbox, with about 10 percent flagged as spam and 6 percent disappearing entirely (EmailToolTester). The fix is publishing all three authentication protocols and watching the reports. SPF is a TXT record listing which IPs and services may send for your domain; receivers reject or flag mail from anything else. DKIM signs outbound messages with a private key whose public half is in DNS, letting receivers detect tampering and verify the sending domain. DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together, requires alignment with the visible From domain, and tells receivers what to do on failure. Use p=none first to collect aggregate reports, move to p=quarantine once authorized senders pass cleanly, then p=reject for full enforcement. Stop your emails from landing in spam folders with trusted email authentication Your browser does not support the audio element. [ Download episode](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/10/Stop-your-emails-from-landing-in-spam-folders-with-trusted-email-authentication.mp3) Share [ ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-services%2Fstop-emails-landing-in-spam-folders-trusted-email-authentication-techniques%2F "Share on LinkedIn") [ ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Stop%20your%20emails%20from%20landing%20in%20spam%20folders%20with%20trusted%20email%20authentication&url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-services%2Fstop-emails-landing-in-spam-folders-trusted-email-authentication-techniques%2F "Share on X/Twitter") [ ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-services%2Fstop-emails-landing-in-spam-folders-trusted-email-authentication-techniques%2F "Share on Facebook") [ ](https://reddit.com/submit?url=undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-services%2Fstop-emails-landing-in-spam-folders-trusted-email-authentication-techniques%2F&title=Stop%20your%20emails%20from%20landing%20in%20spam%20folders%20with%20trusted%20email%20authentication "Share on Reddit") [ ](mailto:?subject=Stop%20your%20emails%20from%20landing%20in%20spam%20folders%20with%20trusted%20email%20authentication&body=Check out this article: undefined%2Fblog%2Femail-services%2Fstop-emails-landing-in-spam-folders-trusted-email-authentication-techniques%2F "Share via Email") ![email authentication](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/10/spf-record-8712.jpg) If your business relies on email marketing, you would understand the pain of having your **well-crafted and strategized emails** land in recipients’ spam folders. As per a deliverability test conducted by EmailToolTester, almost [16.9%](https://www.emailtooltester.com/en/blog/email-deliverability-statistics/) of emails don’t reach the intended recipients’ inboxes; out of these, 10.5% get marked as spam, and 6.4% go missing altogether. So, for example, if you tried reaching out to 1000 people through an [email campaign](https://www.activecampaign.com/glossary/email-campaign), 169 of them won’t see your email in their inboxes. Since you can’t afford to lose existing and potential customers because of this, it’s suggested that you start deploying, **monitoring, and managing trusted** [email authentication](/resources/email-authentication) protocols. ## What is email authentication and how is it done? _Email authentication verifies that an email sender is genuinely who they claim to be_. To achieve this, the domain owner has to set up three protocols, SPF, [DKIM](/resources/what-is-dkim), and DMARC, that allow recipient mail servers to **confirm the authenticity of emails** from that domain. ## SPF [![phishing attacks](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/10/sender-policy-framework-8423.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/10/sender-policy-framework-8423.jpg) SPF is short for Sender Policy Framework. _It’s a protocol that requires domain owners to create a TXT-type SPF record containing all the IP addresses and servers they recognize and allow to be used for sending emails on behalf of their brand_. When an email is sent, the receiving [mail server](https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/mail-server-mail-transfer-transport-agent-MTA-mail-router-Internet-mailer) checks the [SPF record](/content/spf-records) to see if the **server sending** the message is authorized. If it isn’t, the email may be flagged as suspicious or rejected, helping to protect recipients from [phishing attacks](https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/phishing-attack-uses-infostealer/) and spam. ## DKIM DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail. It’s designed to prevent spoofing and email tampering by adding a [digital signature](https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5426/digital-signature) to all outgoing [email headers](https://www.hostinger.in/tutorials/email-headers/). _The receiving server verifies if an email has been altered during transit using the digital signature_. This helps confirm that an email genuinely came from the **claimed sender**. If the decrypted signature matches the original content, the email is authenticated as **legitimate and unaltered**. If it doesn’t, the email may be [flagged as potentially malicious](https://www.darkreading.com/threat-intelligence/anti-bot-services-cybercrooks-bypass-google-red-page). ## DMARC _DMARC’s full form is Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance, an email authentication protocol designed to work based on SPF and DKIM results_. It helps a domain owner specify how recipients’ servers should **handle unauthenticated emails** (those failing [SPF](/resources/what-is-spf) and/or DKIM checks). The three DMARC policies are: ### p=none This policy allows domain owners to [monitor email traffic](https://emailanalytics.com/email-traffic/) without taking any action on failing emails. Emails that fail **DMARC checks** are delivered as usual, but reports are sent to the domain owner, enabling them to analyze issues before enforcing stricter policies. ### p=quarantine With this policy, emails failing DMARC checks are marked suspicious and typically sent to the recipient’s [spam or junk folder](https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-disables-bad-spam-rule-flagging-all-sent-emails-as-junk/). This approach provides a level of protection while still allowing potentially legitimate emails to be **reviewed by recipients**. ### p=reject This is the **strictest policy**, instructing receiving servers to reject any emails that fail DMARC checks completely. Emails that don’t pass SPF or DKIM and fail [DMARC](/resources/what-is-dmarc) alignment are not delivered to the recipient’s inbox at all, preventing phishing and spoofing attempts but requiring careful setup to avoid blocking legitimate emails. [![Blocking Legitimate Emails ](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/10/hosted-email-server-4.jpg)](https://media.mailhop.org/duocircle/images/2024/10/hosted-email-server-4.jpg) ## Domain authority Customers expect emails from a recognizable, [trusted company domain](https://thehackernews.com/2024/02/8000-subdomains-of-trusted-brands.html) as part of a brand’s identity. While **personal email providers** like Gmail or Yahoo are fine for personal use, using them for business can make you seem less credible. _Using your company’s domain to send emails not only looks more professional but also helps prevent your emails from being marked as spam, thanks to authentication protocols like DMARC_. When emails come from your Gmail or Yahoo address through [third-party services](https://securityscorecard.com/blog/what-is-a-third-party-service-provider/) (like Mailchimp), they’re more likely to be flagged as fraudulent, hurting your **email deliverability**. Additionally, sharing a third-party IP with other users may impact your [email reputation](https://medium.com/@mxsuite/managing-email-reputation-tips-and-tricks-32302047edbf) if others use it for spam. ## Where do we fit in this picture? [DuoCircle](/) offers ransomware and [phishing protection](/email/phishing-protection) services by helping domain owners deploy and manage DMARC. Right from creating a DMARC record to analyzing [DMARC reports](/content/dmarc-report), we take care of everything so that a [threat actor](https://social.cyware.com/news/turla-threat-actor-group-an-insight-into-the-threat-groups-cyber-espionage-activities-f7e97192) doesn’t have a chance to exploit your **domain and business names**. [Book a demo](/demo-request) and **get started**. ## Topics DKIMDMARCemail headerspfSPF record ![Brad Slavin](https://media.mailhop.org/dmarcreport/images/team/brad-slavin.jpg) Brad Slavin General Manager General Manager at DuoCircle. Product strategy and commercial lead across the email security portfolio. ## Secure your email infrastructure Protect, authenticate, and deliver. Contact our team to find the right solution. [Contact Sales](/contact/) [Explore Products](/products/) ## Related Articles [ DMARC 6m Troubleshoot DMARC problems for Google Workspace domains Sep 6, 2024 ](/blog/dmarc/troubleshoot-dmarc-problems-for-google-workspace-domains/)[ Email Security 5m The key differences between Sender Policy Framework and Sender ID Feb 11, 2025 ](/blog/email-security/the-key-differences-between-sender-policy-framework-and-sender-id/)[ Email Services 8m 5 Reasons To Test SPF Configuration Before Sending Emails May 14, 2026 ](/blog/5-reasons-to-test-spf-configuration-before-sending-emails/)[ Email Services 7m 7 Critical Factors to Consider Before You Buy SMTP Relay Services Apr 29, 2026 ](/blog/7-critical-factors-before-you-buy-smtp-relay-services/) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"DuoCircle LLC","url":"https://www.duocircle.com","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.duocircle.com/images/duocircle-logo.png"},"description":"DuoCircle is a portfolio of specialized email products covering protection, authentication, delivery, and routing. 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