> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.nudgen.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Email Deliverability Audit

> Audit your domain’s SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to ensure optimal inbox placement.

## Overview

The **Email Deliverability Audit** tool is a comprehensive technical checker designed to help you verify your domain's authentication setup. By auditing your **SPF**, **DKIM**, and **DMARC** records in one pass, Nudgen identifies configuration gaps that could cause your emails to be flagged as spam or rejected by major mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook.

Using this tool ensures that your technical foundation is solid before you launch your next marketing or retention campaign.

<Info>
  You can access the tool directly at [nudgen.net/email-deliverability-audit](https://nudgen.net/email-deliverability-audit).
</Info>

## Core Authentication Checks

The audit performs three essential checks on your domain:

### SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF is a DNS record that specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.

* **Pass**: A valid SPF record is detected and correctly formatted.
* **Fail**: No SPF record found or multiple conflicting records detected.
* **Recommendation**: Nudgen provides a unified SPF record template to fix common "multiple SPF record" errors.

### DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to your emails, allowing receivers to verify that the message was indeed authorized by the domain owner.

* **Auto-Detection**: The tool attempts to detect common selectors (like `google`, `selector1`, `k1`).
* **Manual selector**: If your provider uses a custom selector, you can enter it manually for a precise check.

### DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together with a policy that tells receiving servers how to handle emails that fail authentication.

* **Policy Strength**: Nudgen checks if your policy is set to `none` (monitoring), `quarantine`, or `reject` (enforcement).
* **Alignment**: Ensures your DMARC record is correctly aligned with your domain.

## Understanding Results

Each check returns one of three statuses:

* **Pass (Emerald)**: Your record is correctly configured and follows best practices.
* **Warning (Amber)**: A record is found but may have optimization opportunities (e.g., DMARC policy set to `none`).
* **Fail (Rose)**: The record is missing, invalid, or incorrectly formatted, which will likely impact deliverability.

## Technical Recommendations

For every failed or missing check, Nudgen provides **copy-ready DNS record templates**.

1. **Identify the Gap**: Review the "Recommended records to publish next" section.
2. **Copy the Values**: Use the **Copy** buttons to grab the Type, Name, and Content.
3. **Update DNS**: Paste these records into your DNS provider (e.g., Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Namecheap).
4. **Replace Placeholders**: Ensure you replace any `YOUR_VALUE` placeholders with the specific data provided by your email service provider.

## FAQ

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="What is SPF?">
    SPF stands for Sender Policy Framework. It is a DNS record that lists which mail servers are allowed to send email for your domain, helping receiving providers spot spoofed messages.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is DKIM?">
    DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail. It adds a cryptographic signature to your emails so mailbox providers can verify that the message was authorized by your domain and was not changed in transit.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What is DMARC?">
    DMARC stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance. It tells receiving providers how to handle messages that fail SPF or DKIM alignment and can also send you reports about attempted abuse.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does this tell me if my emails will land in the inbox?">
    Not by itself. This tool checks your authentication DNS records, which are a required technical foundation, but inbox placement also depends on sender reputation, content, engagement, and sending behavior.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why might DKIM show a warning instead of a fail?">
    Many providers use custom selectors. If we can’t detect a common selector automatically, we prompt you to enter the selector from your email provider so we can run a more precise DKIM check.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are these DNS records ready to paste directly?">
    They are copy-ready templates for the correct host and record type, but placeholders may still need to be replaced with the exact values from your sending provider.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Run an Audit" icon="shield-check" href="https://nudgen.net/email-deliverability-audit">
    Check your domain authentication now.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Spam Checker" icon="magnifying-glass" href="/en/spam-checker/overview">
    Analyze your email content for spam triggers.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>