New Email Marketing Rules 2024: How to adapt to the requirements of Google and Yahoo!

In the continuous evolution of privacy and digital communication practices, companies such as Google and Yahoo they are continually refining their inbox management practices to ensure optimal user experience and security. Recently, these tech giants announced new requirements for email senders. Although these requirements were previously considered best practices, will now become mandatory.

These are Google's new requirements (which are more stringent) and once these are met, you will also comply with the standards imposed by Yahoo. Google will require these new requirements starting February 1, 2024, while for Yahoo the adjustment is announced for the first quarter of 2024​.

Major Changes

1. Email authentication with DKIM and DMARC: Verifying the sender's identity through these protocols is critical to ensuring the security and authenticity of emails.
2. Correspondence of the “From:” Header with Your Domain: To be compliant with DMARC, the email address displayed must match the sending domain.
3. One-Click Unsubscription Facilitation: Every marketing email should include an easy way to unsubscribe.
4. Maintaining Spam reports below 0.3%: It is essential to keep spam rates low.

How to adapt to these changes

1. Domain Verification: Use SPF, DKIM and DMARC to authenticate emails. From 2024, it will be mandatory to use your own sending domain, excluding shared domains.
2. “From:” Header Match: Make sure the domain in the header matches your sending domain to comply with DMARC alignment.
3. Simple and Clear Unsubscription: Include a clear, easily accessible unsubscribe link in every marketing email.
4. Keeping Spam Rates Low: Track spam complaint rates using tools like Encharge Metrics or Google's Postmaster Tools.

List maintenance

1. Double Opt-In: Implement strict opt-in control to reduce spam addresses on your list.
2. Audience segmentation: Segment subscribers based on engagement level to maintain high reputation and deliverability.
3. Regular Maintenance of the List: Remove inactive and low-engagement subscribers to reduce risk and improve engagement.

Some suggestions for your Email Marketing campaigns

1. Remind your subscribers of the reason for subscribing: Add a note explaining how they were added to your list.
2. Don't Send Too Many Emails: Excessive sending frequency can irritate recipients and increase spam reports.
3. Add Branding to Your Emails: Use the logo and visual elements consistent with your brand.
4. Maintain Consistency: Send regular, relevant emails to maintain an ongoing relationship with your subscribers.

How to test the spam score of your emails:

You can check the quality of your emails with the free Mail Tester tool

References

Official statement from Google
Official statement from Yahoo!