Why email authentication matters in Zoho Campaigns

Why email authentication matters in Zoho Campaigns

​
​
Welcome back to another post in Marketer's Space!

If you've recently started using Zoho Campaigns, you've probably come across terms like SPF and DKIM. You may have also noticed emails that show "via zcsend.net" in Gmail when testing or sending campaigns.
For many new users, this raises a few questions—such as:
  1. Why does this happen?
  2. Is something wrong with my campaign?
  3. Do I really need to configure authentication before sending any campaigns?
    These are natural questions, especially if you're setting up Zoho Campaigns for the first time.

    In this post, we'll walk through what email authentication actually means, why it matters for your campaigns, and how to approach it correctly in Zoho Campaigns.

    What is email authentication?

    Email authentication is essentially a way for mailbox providers like Gmail or Outlook to verify that an email from your domain was actually sent with your permission.
    Without this verification step, anyone could impersonate another domain and send out fraudulent messages. Authentication helps prevent this type of impersonation and protects recipients from misleading emails.

    In Zoho Campaigns, email authentication mainly involves two key technologies:
    Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM).

    When these records are configured properly, they act as verification signals for receiving email servers. Specifically, they tell receiving systems that Zoho Campaigns is authorized to send emails on your domain's behalf and that sent messages have not been altered during transit to the recipient.

    What happens if you skip authentication?

    Many new users start sending campaigns without first completing these authentication steps. While the platform does allow emails to be sent without authentication, skipping this step can affect how your emails are received.
    Some common results include:
    • Emails displaying "via zcsend.net"
    • Lower inbox placement
    • Reduced sender trust
    • Possible delivery to spam
    While this may seem like a minor concern at first, authentication affects much more than just how the sender appears in Gmail; it directly impacts deliverability and your sending domain's overall reputation. Even well-designed campaigns may struggle to reach inboxes consistently if authentication isn't properly configured.

    Why it matters more today than ever 

    Email providers are becoming increasingly strict when evaluating incoming messages. Their primary goal is to protect users from spam, phishing attempts, and impersonation attacks. In fact, Gmail has recently tightened its sender policy requirements, which you can read more about here.

    Modern spam filters don't even check message content anymore. Instead, they're more likely to focus on the following key factors before deciding whether to deliver an email or not:
    • Domain reputation
    • Sender and domain co-relation
    • Past engagement
    • Authentication status
    Because of this, even good content can struggle to reach inboxes if their technical setups are incomplete. That's why authentication isn't something you can afford to postpone any longer.

    How to set up authentication in Zoho Campaigns 

    Setting up authentication in Zoho Campaigns is simple, but does require a few careful steps.

    Step 1:     Add your sending domain.

    The first step is to add your sending domain in Zoho Campaigns and verify it. Follow the instructions detailed in this help article to complete the domain verification process.

    Once your domain is added, Zoho Campaigns will generate the authentication code required for the next step.

    Step 2: Configure SPF and DKIM.

    After adding your domain, you'll need to update in your domain's DNS settings with the records Zoho provides, which include your SPF and DKIM records. Complete this step in your domain hosting provider, as DNS settings are managed there.

    If you need detailed guidance, follow the step-by-step instructions in this help article.

    Step 3: Complete the manual verification.

    Once you've added your SPF and DKIM records to your domain's DNS settings, you'll need to return to Zoho Campaigns and manually verify the authentication from the Domain Authentication section. Only after this step will the system confirm that the authentication setup has been completed successfully.


    Step 4: Test it out before sending campaigns

    After your authentication is verified, it's always a good idea to run a quick check before sending a full campaign.

    First, go to the Settings section and open Domain Authentication. The status should look something like the example shown below: 



    Once everything appears correctly configured, send a small test campaign and review the results; carefully verify that no "via" tag appears in Gmail and your inbox placement looks normal.

    Common misconceptions about authentication 

    There are a few common assumptions that often cause confusion regarding email authentication.
    "My email was sent successfully—so the authentication must have worked."

    Not necessarily. Emails can still be sent even if authentication isn't properly configured. However, sending successfully doesn't guarantee good deliverability.
    "Authentication only affects branding."

    While the "via" tag is the most visible indicator, authentication affects much more than appearance; it influences sender reputation, inbox placement, and how mailbox providers evaluate your domain.
    "I can just configure it later."

    This is another common mistake. Your sender reputation starts forming the moment you send your very first campaign. Delaying authentication can make it harder to build a strong reputation later.

    Authentication + good practices = strong foundation 

    Authentication is important in its own right, but it works best when combined with good sending practices—such as:
    • Maintaining clean contact lists
    • Gradually increasing sending volume
    • Creating engaging and relevant content
    • Sending campaigns at a consistent frequency
    When you combine these practices with proper authentication, you create a much stronger foundation for long-term deliverability.

    Final thoughts 

    If you're just getting started with Zoho Campaigns, it's worth taking a moment before sending your first major campaign to check a few basics first: 
    1. Is your domain authenticated?
    2. Are SPF and DKIM properly verified?
    3. Have you tested everything with a small campaign? 
    Email authentication helps build long-term trust—not just with inbox providers, but with your recipients.

    If you've faced authentication-related challenges or have questions/suggestions about SPF or DKIM setup, feel free to share them below. Your experience might help someone else avoid the same confusion.

    Until next time, happy campaigning!

     


      • Recent Topics

      • All new Address Field in Zoho CRM: maintain structured and accurate address inputs

        Availability Update: 29 September 2025: It's currently available for all new sign-ups and for existing Zoho CRM orgs which are in the Professional edition exclusively for IN DC users. 2 March 2026: Available to users in all DCs except US and EU DC. 24

      • When will Zoho Trident come to Linux?

        It already is implemented for MacOS, which is *nix based operating system. When will it be ported to Linux?

      • 普段使っているAI、Zohoと繋げてもっと便利にしませんか？【Zoho MCP】

        みなさんこんにちは、ゾーホージャパンの岸本です。 ChatGPTなどのAI、普段から使っていますか？ 最近は「AIを使う」だけでなく、 普段利用している業務ツールとAIを繋げて活用するケースが増えてきています。 そこで6月のコミュニティイベントでは、Zoho社員セッションでZoho MCPを取り上げようと思います。 【Zoho MCPって？】 Zoho MCPは、AIとSaaSアプリケーションを連携するための仕組みです。 ----------- MCPプロトコルをサポートしているLLM（一例）：

      • Zoho Commerce and Third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration

        We are implementing a third-party shipping (MachShip) API integration for our Zoho Commerce store and have made significant progress. However, we need guidance on a specific technical challenge. Current Challenge: We need to get the customer input to

      • Need help to evaluate if Commerce is good for me

        Hi, I just want to quickly check if Zoho Commerce can fulfill my needs. Here is what I am looking for: - Multi-vendor plateform : We will be 3-4 different farms that will offer similar products (ex. tomatoes) to few selected customers (retaurants). All

      • Zoho Commerce + MCP + Claude

        Hi everyone, I wanted to share a really impressive experience I had with Zoho Commerce + MCP + Claude. I created an MCP server using Zoho MCP Server and connected my Claude instance to my store built with Zoho Commerce. For safety, I enabled only product

      • UK payroll entries

        Hey guys, Nett payroll payments are imported direct into the bank, using an external payroll system (will be glad for Zoho to have a UK payroll app) At present I have monthly recurring bills for HMRC which are auto entered & paid when due. This seems

      • auto add as member the contact owner

        is there a way that i can make a zoho flow that will add the owner of the contact as a member of the chat after the round robin assignment?

      • Get Files Associated to Data Template via API

        I have a data template with multiple files associated to it, and trying to write a Deluge script that will fetch files associated with this data template. I created the script below based on the WorkDrive API documentation, one request uses the data templates

      • Zoho Book - Banking Module - Cash Credit account

        I have a CC account with a bank. I initially added the account as a 'Bank Account' under the banking module in Zoho Books. However, this CC Bank Account is showing as an asset instead of a liability. I have added the account as a credit card account but

      • How to change column headings in pivot table?

        Hi, Is there a way to rename the column headers of a pivot table? Now some the columns are named with value labels: 'SUM of .....'. We would like to rename those headers. As of now we couldn't find any direct solution to adjust the headers, besides copying and reformat. We want to avoid these extra steps. Best, Tiemen

      • Remove Zoho Header from Portals

        I have a portal page with custom domain. But when I print directly from a webpage, the Zoho CRM header shows. It kind of kills the branding aspect. Is there a way to get rid of this?

      • Leistungsdatum in Rechnungen (Zoho Books)

        Hallo, ist es irgendwie möglich den Leistungszeitraum in der Rechnung aufzuführen? Beste Grüße Aleks

      • Please design a better spam filter

        Hi Team, While I love Zoho Mail for all the awesome features you have designed - this is the one you need to do a lot of work on - Spam Filter. Your spam categorization seems to be very inefficient - any email containing brand images or a tracking pixel

      • Host not reachable when sending

        For few partner that I send regular emails now got error and they don't receive emails Temporary failure fam-xxx.hr/185.xx.xx.xxx Host not reachable. Have more than 20 mails in https://mailadmin.zoho.eu/cpanel/home.do#mailSettings/retryEmail please

      • IP flagged as abusive

        I'm getting the error that 136.143.188.15 is listed as abusive. I've checked with mxtoolbox.com and it is indeed in the list

      • App passwords stop working

        Some of my app passwords appear to stop working after awhile. Seems to happen every 6 months or so. Just had to change one again for the second time in a year. Is this a bug or a feature? Or perhaps changes are being made on the back end on occasion that

      • Duplicate entries for contacts birthdays

        Good morning I have recently started to use my Zoho calendar and noticed that there are multiple birthday events showing for some of my contacts. I have checked my contacts and there were duplicates for some contacts which I have now rectified but the

      • Zoho IMAP Access to mail doesn't sync messages

        As stated in the topic - I have company account email address setup, and it has ( as in the picutre ) ActiveSync and Imap access enabled. However the messages does not show up while logged in in Zoho Mail however when I log in in thunderbird everything

      • Cliq iOS can't see shared screen

        Hello, I had this morning a video call with a colleague. She is using Cliq Desktop MacOS and wanted to share her screen with me. I'm on iPad. I noticed, while she shared her screen, I could only see her video, but not the shared screen... Does Cliq iOS is able to display shared screen, or is it somewhere else to be found ? Regards

      • Temps working custom view in Zoho Recruit

        How do you create a custom view of temps working for this week.  I have tried multiple combinations of job status, start date, end date etc but I am unable to find the correct combinations to show the temps I have working this week?? Any suggestions on how I can do this. 

      • Client Scripts similar to CRM?

        Hi, Is there any plans for Client Scripts to become a feature of Recruit? Feel this will be a great benefit to a number of users. Would be great for example in cases where a Client has banned / blacklisted a Candidate - so that if that candidate is associated

      • Announcing Zoho Sheet desktop app for macOS and Windows (Beta)

        Hello Sheet users, We know you’ve been waiting for this one. It has always been the top priority on our roadmap to provide a single native desktop app for macOS and Windows that works both online and offline. Today, we are excited to announce that the

      • What's New in Zoho POS - April 2026

        Hello everyone, Welcome to Zoho POS’s monthly update, where we share our latest feature updates, enhancements, events, and more. Let’s take a look at how April went. Access and manage other web applications in Zoho POS with Web Tabs You can now access

      • Many Zoho POS Issues

        Can not apply credits from a customers account as a form of payment. It shows that you can but there is a bug that does not execute the action. Reported many times. Can not view Sessions from Zoho POS WebView, throws a JQUERY error Workflows and actions

      • HOW I CAN GET BETA VERSION FOT TESTING

        HI. ZOHO I AM INTERESTED IN YOUR BETA SOFTWARE TO EXPERIENCE NEW FEATURES.

      • Multiple EAN code for product

        option to add multiple EAN code for product???

      • Issue adding/changing mobile number for OTP

        Hi Zoho Community, I’m trying to add or change my mobile number, but I keep getting this error: “We’re unable to send OTP to this mobile number. Please contact support-as@eu.zohocorp.com” Because of this, I can’t verify my number or continue the setup.

      • Zoho Payroll Canada does not work

        We submitted payroll within the required timelines. The money was withdrawn from our account and our employees have not been paid. Impossible to get a hold of someone at Zoho. I can’t believe the company operates like this. What a bloody disgrace. Shame

      • Enhance Appointment Buffers in Zoho Bookings

        There was previously a long-standing feature request related to enhancing the way appointment buffers work in Zoho Bookings, but it looks like the original post has been deleted. I am therefore adding a new request that Zoho Bookings adjust how appointment

      • Allow customers to choose meeting venue and meeting duration on booking page

        My business primarily involves one-to-one meetings with my clients. Given the hybrid-work world we now find ourselves in, these meetings can take several forms (which I think of as the meeting "venue"): In-person Zoom Phone call I currently handle these

      • Elektronische Rechnung (PDF) im xRechnung / ZUGFeRD-Format

        Hat jemand eine Lösung in Books realisiert? Wir sind am Export- und am Eingangsrechnung-Import interessiert.

      • Event Time Zone in meeting invites are confusing users

        When sending calendar invites to internal and external users, the first section "Event Time Zone" is confusing people and they are automatically declining events. Can this section please be removed??? It already shows the correct time zone next to the

      • Forwarding without verification

        Hi, I use Tripit to keep track of all my business travel. I've recently moved over to Zoho and wanted to set up a forwarding rule to send various travel confirmation emails automatically to plans@tripit.com Obviously this is an email address I don't control,

      • Wie veröffentliche ich ein PDF Datei?

        Hallo! Wie veröffentliche ich PDF Datein ich habe ein PDF Datei und den sieht ihr im Upload ich möchte ihn veröffentlichen wie? Mit Freundlichen Grüßen, Herr Bahaa Addin Chkirid

      • Filter by user in Pivot Chart

        I have a Pivot chart where the data should be filtered by user. The user enters the system and should see only the data that correspond to it. Can anyone help me?

      • Internal mails on our company domain (managed by Zoho) do not get delivered

        Hi last week Thursday and Friday a colleague had sent me two emails which did not show up at all in my inbox, spam or anywhere else. What this a problem with Zoho mail in general or did this affect just us? From the forum is reads like many problems had

      • #2 The Tax Talk Nobody Wants to Have

        "We are also able to manage our GST invoices without worrying about compliance issues. With Zoho Invoice, we are happy, our tax consultant is happy, and so are our customers," rejoices Shivprateek Habib, Partner, Flutterboots Services LLP. That's usually

      • Bulk upload images and specifications to products

        Hi, Many users have asked this over the years and I am also asking the same. Is there any way in which we can bulk upload product (variant) images and product specifications. The current way to upload/select image for every variant is too cumbersome.

      • Workflows fail silently in Zoho CRM and there is no native way to know

        Workflow automation is honestly one of the biggest reasons my clients choose Zoho. But there is one problem I keep running into across almost every implementation. When a workflow fails, nobody finds out. Email alerts hit daily limits and just stop. Custom

      • Next Page