How to prepare for the big Google and Yahoo email changes coming in 2024

As of February 2024, if your business sends newsletters on a regular basis, you will need to pay close attention to some big changes happening in the email marketing space.

Google and Yahoo have both announced that they will be implementing stricter measures around email authentication protocols that will require every sender to authenticate their email domain, to ensure safer and less spammy inboxes.

As a marketer, you would know spam emails have always been an issue, which is why there is lots of regulation around it ( Refer to the Australian Anti-Spam Act 2003 and the EU GDPR changes I wrote about in another SmartCompany article here).

What has become even more apparent this year, is the amount of spam emails that are hitting our inboxes which are mailed from email addresses like @gmail.com or @outlook.com (AI is making it easy for spammers to reach you en masse, hence another reason why Google is keen to upgrade their email authentication requirements).

I’ve met a few businesses recently who:

Don’t know about these new important email changes
Don’t think it’s a big deal
They put it into their “too-hard basket” to deal with later.

I say this is too important to leave for later and should be addressed by every marketer at least 90 days in advance of the planned date — which is February 1, 2024, as announced by Google. No doubt others will follow in lockstep.

Although email service providers are already taking a lead on this, there are key things marketers can do now to prepare for this change.

We’re around three months away from these changes taking place, so I think it’s best to be prepared if you want to ensure consistent email open rates for your newsletters and most importantly, don’t wish to see any negative impact on your sales that can be attributed to these changes.

What do you need to do to prepare?

With Gmail and Yahoo Mail controlling most of the email market, they are introducing new sending rules for accounts that send to more than 5,000 Gmail/Yahoo contacts per day.

These new rules are:

Authentication

All senders will now need to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication for their emails.

Unsubscribes

All senders must provide a one-click unsubscribe option in their emails. In addition, they need to process unsubscribe requests within 2 days (previously it was roughly 30 days). You need to make it easy for your subscribers to opt-out.

Spam complaints

All senders will be expected to aim for a low spam complaint rate, ideally less than 0.3%. This means your subscribers shouldn’t report your emails as spam frequently. This process starts with how your subscribers are added to the database and how engaged they are with your emails, especially if you send on a regular basis, I’d suggest you cleanse your list every 3 months or so and ensure you only send bulk emails to engaged contacts. If you want to track your Email Spam Complaints, you can check out Google’s Postmaster Tools for your email spam rates or refer to your newsletter reports.

Normally, it’s best practice to set up these authentication protocols early on before embarking on any mass email campaigns, like Black Friday promos. Regardless of the size of your database, this new change becomes the new standard for email marketing going forward.

Another reason why you need to prepare for these changes now is if your business relies on emails to sell products or services, your email reach could be affected. And to put the cherry on top, it will take about 90 days for your business to recover from.

For most retail businesses, this means 3 months of reduced revenue which doesn’t sound like fun to me.

My advice is to not ignore this change.

So it’s best to start planning early and to include it as part of your overall marketing plan for 2024.

There is also a more techy reason why you need to start implementing email authentication protocols like DKIM, SPF and DMARC early.

Here’s why:

Every time you change from one email authentication to another, the ESPs need some time to gather all the data around your domain so that it’s verified as a credible domain.

The protocols that businesses need to ensure they have updated before February 2024 are:

SPF (Sender Policy Framework),
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance).

All these are essential for verifying your identity and ensuring high email deliverability.

When you send an email to your list, the domain should appear as a familiar, credible source not only to your subscribers but also to the Googles and the Yahoos of the world.

In layman’s terms, you need time to warm up your sender requirements so Google and Yahoo get to know your business and place your emails into the right inbox.

This ensures high open rates which in turn could equal more sales!

Although it seems too ‘boring’ or ‘techy’ for some marketers to grapple with, neglecting email authentication protocols could cost you in lost revenue, so it’s best to start planning now.

These changes are positive news for everyone involved — your subscribers will have a cleaner, less spammy inbox and you’ll be following email marketing best practices. It’s really a win-win.

Jovana Vujnic is the founder and director of Bumper Leads.