Verify your domain to send email from GorgiasUpdated 15 days ago

To send email from Gorgias using an external email address, first connect an external email address, then follow the steps in this article to verify your email domain. 

Verifying your domain reduces bounce rates, prevents emails from landing in Spam, and ensures your email address is recognized as safe by your customers' email provider. 

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Requirements

• Only Admins can access the domain verification values in Gorgias
• You’ll need to be an Administrator in your Domain Registrar to update your DNS records

What to expect

Once you've connected an external email address to Gorgias:

• Gorgias will provide you with a unique set of values to add DNS records in your Domain Registrar.
• Copy these values from your Gorgias settings, then use them to create DNS records in your Domain Registrar.
• Once you've saved the records, wait up to 72 hours for verification to complete.
• If your verification is successful, your email address will be listed as verified in Gorgias.
  
  

Required records for domain verification

Custom email domains connected to Gorgias need to be verified by adding the following records to your Domain Registrar’s DNS settings:

• DKIM Records
  These records allow you to “sign” your emails in a way that your recipient’s email provider can verify the message came from you and is safe.
  Gorgias provides two CNAME* values for DKIM so that the security keys can be rotated without downtime. You’ll want to create separate records for each value in your DNS settings.
• Custom Return Path
  This is where Email Service Providers send delivery failure notifications if your email bounces.
  Gorgias provides a CNAME for Custom Return Path so that, when added to your DNS settings, Gorgias is authorized to manage email bounces on behalf of your domain.
• DMARC Records
  If your DKIM checks fail, the DMARC record specifies what to do.
  Gorgias provides a TXT record (below) for you to add to your DNS settings.

_{*Some customers might have TXT values in Gorgias instead of CNAME. If you see TXT values in Gorgias that start with k=rsa and v=spf , skip ahead to Create SPF and DKIM records in Gorgias. If you’d like more information, you can contact our support team.}

Verify your domain

Email Service Providers (like Google or Microsoft) have established minimum email authentication requirements to protect their customers from phishing and ransomware attacks. To meet these requirements, verify the domain you connected to Gorgias by creating records in your DNS. A verified domain will also have improved delivery times, reduced bounces, and fewer emails sent to the recipient's Spam/Junk folder.

If you connected your email address to Gorgias with automatic email forwarding, verifying your domain is required before you’ll be able to send email from Gorgias.  

If you connected your email address with a direct email integration and you use a custom domain, verifying your domain is strongly recommended, as unverified domains are more susceptible to delivery failures.

Create records in your Domain Registrar

Gorgias provides CNAME values for you to create DKIM records in your DNS settings. DKIM records allow mail servers to check the DKIM signature in the email header against the key from your DNS to make sure the email is really from you and hasn’t been changed. 

To complete domain verification, you'll create records in your domain registrar, using values you copied from Gorgias. 

1. From your helpdesk, click the Settings icon in the bottom-left corner.
2. In the menu, locate Channels, then select Email.
3. Select an email address from the list, then click Verify Domain.
4. In a separate browser tab, sign into your Domain Registrar dashboard and navigate to the DNS settings for the domain that matches the one you selected in Gorgias.
5. Create a CNAME record in your DNS settings, then add gor._domainkey as the Host/Name/Record Name, and paste the Value string from Gorgias into the Value field in the record.
6. Create a second CNAME record in your DNS settings, then add gor2._domainkey as the Host/Name/Record Name, and paste the Value string from Gorgias into the Value field in the record.
7. Create a third CNAME record in your DNS settings, then paste the host value (it starts with em) from Gorgias as the Host/Name/Record Name in the record, and paste the Value string from Gorgias into the Value field in the record.
8. Once you’ve saved the values from Gorgias as DNS records in your Domain Registrar, return to Gorgias and click Check Status.

Create SPF and DKIM records in your Domain Registrar

If you have only CNAME values in Gorgias, you can ignore the steps below. If you have TXT values that start with k=rsa; and v=spf, you'll need to add them to records in your DNS settings.

1. From your helpdesk, click the Settings icon in the bottom-left corner.
2. In the menu, locate Channels, then select Email.
3. Select an email address from the list, then click Verify Domain.
4. In a separate browser tab, sign into your Domain Registrar dashboard and navigate to the DNS settings for the domain that matches the one you selected in Gorgias.
5. Create a TXT record in your DNS settings, then add @ as the Host/Name/Record Name, and paste the entire Value string that starts with v=spf... from Gorgias into the Value field in the record. This is your SPF record.
6. Create a second TXT record in your DNS settings, then paste the Host value from Gorgias that starts with pic_domain... as the Host/Name/Record Name in the record, and paste the Value string that starts with k=rsa; from Gorgias into the Value field in the record. This is your DKIM record.
7. Once you’ve saved the values from Gorgias as DNS records in your Domain Registrar, return to Gorgias and click Check Status.
   
   

Create a DMARC record in your Domain Registrar

DMARC records tell a recipient's mail server how to handle emails that fail authentication checks, and can send you reports about who is sending mail from your domain. If you send a high volume of email, you should add a DMARC record to protect your domain against spoofing, further increase trust in your domain, and improve your email deliverability.

Before you add a DMARC record, ensure that the records you added from the previous section are live. This can take up to 72 hours, and you can use a tool like MXToolbox DKIM Lookup to validate DKIM records. Use MXToolBox SPF Lookup if you need to validate an SPF record.

DMARC values

When adding a DMARC record to your DNS records, use the following values, replacing example.com with your domain name, and the rua=mailto: address with the email address that should receive the aggregated report of quarantined or rejected emails.

If you have an existing DMARC record for your domain, ensure that the policy (the p value) is set to either p=quarantine or p=reject:

• Treat as suspicious - p=quarantine
  When authentication fails, the recipient's server will mark the email as suspicious, and will take an action like sending it to their spam/junk folder or flagging it in their inbox. The email may still end up in the recipient's inbox if their own filtering logic overrides DMARC. 
  This policy can protect recipients from spoofed emails from your domain, while minimizing the loss of legitimate mail.
• Full enforcement - p=reject
  When authentication fails, the recipient's server will reject the email and it will not be delivered.
  This policy prevents spoofing of your domain entirely.

Add values to common Domain Registrars

If you’re having trouble adding values to, or creating, DNS records, it’s best to reach out to your Domain Registrar for support. Below, you’ll find documentation about managing DNS settings from a few common Domain Registrars:

• Bluehost
• DreamHost
• GoDaddy
• Hostinger
• 1&1 IONOS
• Name.com
• Namecheap
• Shopify
• Squarespace