Admin users can view the account authentication status by going to
Account Settings > Account > Domain Authentication.
Email authentication is the process that allows you to mask BenchmarkONE as your relay point in sent emails and replace it with your own domain. This does not affect any email sent outside of BenchmarkONE, but it will improve your deliverability when sending emails from your BenchmarkONE account.
Email authentication can be accomplished with the addition of a few DNS records on your sending domain. You will need access to your domain host’s DNS panel to complete these changes. If you are not able, it's likely your web developer or whoever set up your email account can complete these for you.
-- If you prefer a video walk-through, check out our Email Authentication Overview.
Overview of the records:
DMARC (2024 new requirement)
Additional information:
1. SPF
If your domain already has an SPF record:
Find the TXT record that begins with “v=spf1”.
Edit this record.
Before or after any “include:” statement, add this — include:bmesend.com
Be sure to save your changes.
Need help updating your SPF? Check out this free SPF appender tool.
If your domain does not have an SPF record:
Can’t find a record that begins with “v=spf1”? You will need to add a brand-new record.
Add a new TXT record –
Type: TXT
Host / Name: @
Value: v=spf1 include:bmesend.com ~all
2. DKIM
Add a new CNAME record –
Type: CNAME
Host / Name: f1._domainkey
Value: _dkim.clients.bmesend.com.
3. DMARC
If your domain does not have a valid DMARC policy present:
Can’t find a record that begins with “v=DMARC1”? You will need to add a brand-new record.
Add a new TXT record –
Type: TXT
Host / Name: _dmarc
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; adkim=r; aspf=r;
If your domain does have a DMARC policy present:
Ensure a p policy is present, like “p=none” and make sure aspf and adkim are NOT set to strict.
Note: Without a DMARC policy, your emails are not considered fully authenticated and will no longer be “white labeled” and able to send from your domain. They will be rewritten to send from a Benchmark Email authenticated subdomain.
4. Custom Return - Path
Add a new CNAME record –
Type: CNAME
Host / Name: bounce
Value: clients.bmesend.com.
5. Custom Link Wrapping
Add a new CNAME record –
Type: CNAME
Host / Name: link
Value: tkr.link.bmesend.com.
💡 NOTE: If you need to use a different Host/Name, contact our support team so we can complete the setup from our side.
Confirming Authentication is Complete
You can check the status of the authentication in your account settings.
Account Settings > Account > Domain Authentication.
Since changes to your DNS can take some time to propagate across the internet, we may not be able to confirm your changes right away. A best practice is to allow roughly 24 hours for the records to propagate. During this window of time, you will not want to send emails out of BenchmarkONE to ensure you don't unintentionally receive bad delivery rates while the changes are still propagating.
Once we can verify the updates are correct you will have a green authenticated status to resume sending!
Help Articles for Popular Domain Hosts
Below we have included help articles for popular domain hosting services to assist with updating/adding records within their DNS portal. If you do not see your domain service listed, you can typically Google your provider’s name and “manage DNS” to find the help you need.
Please note that any questions specific to your domain host’s portal should be sent to your provider. The BenchmarkONE support team can help with common questions, but cannot offer specific support within your DNS tool.