DNS Records for Cold Email: Everything You Need to Configure
Your domain's DNS records are the foundation of email deliverability. Here is every DNS record relevant to cold email and how to configure it.
Your domain's DNS records are the foundation of email deliverability. Here is every DNS record relevant to cold email and how to configure it.
MX Records (Mail Exchange)
MX records tell other mail servers where to deliver incoming email for your domain. Without correct MX records, you cannot receive email on your domain. Google Workspace MX records point to gmail-smtp-in.google.com (and backup servers). Microsoft 365 MX records point to yourdomain-com.mail.protection.outlook.com.
SPF Record (TXT)
A TXT record that specifies authorized sending servers (see Article 111).
DKIM Record (TXT or CNAME)
A TXT record (Google Workspace) or CNAME records (Microsoft 365) that publish your DKIM public key (see Article 112).
DMARC Record (TXT)
A TXT record at _dmarc.yourdomain.com that defines your authentication policy (see Article 113).
Custom Tracking Domain (CNAME)
If your cold email tool uses a custom tracking domain, you need to add a CNAME record pointing your tracking subdomain to the tool's tracking server. Example: track.yourdomain.com CNAME to your-tool-tracking.com.
Autodiscover Records
Microsoft 365 uses an autodiscover CNAME record for automatic email client configuration. Google Workspace does not typically require this. Verifying all DNS records: Use the free DNS Checker at Warm Inboxes to verify that all your DNS records are correctly published and propagated. DNS propagation can take up to 48 hours after changes, so check again if results are not as expected.
The importance of a single DNS management point
Manage all your domain's DNS through one provider (your registrar or Cloudflare). Splitting DNS management across multiple services increases the risk of configuration errors and makes troubleshooting more difficult.
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