GoHighLevel email deliverability

In short

Email deliverability is how often your emails land in the inbox rather than spam. Three technical records, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, prove to email providers that your sending domain is legitimate. Setting them up in GoHighLevel takes about 30 minutes. Not setting them up means your campaigns may never be seen. This guide explains each record and how to add them.

Why deliverability matters

An email campaign with 40% open rate means nothing if 60% of your emails go to spam. Most email providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) now require proper authentication records before accepting emails from custom domains.

When you send email through GoHighLevel LC Email without a verified custom domain, your emails send from a shared domain. Shared domains have lower reputation because many people use them. Your deliverability will be worse than with your own verified domain.

SPF: who is allowed to send for your domain

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that lists which servers are allowed to send email from your domain. If a server not on that list sends email claiming to be from your domain, receiving servers know it may be spoofed.

GoHighLevel provides the SPF record value when you add a sending domain in Settings, Email Services. You add it as a TXT record in your domain registrar's DNS settings. The format looks like: v=spf1 include:yoursendingdomain.com ~all.

DKIM: a digital signature on every email

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a cryptographic signature to every outgoing email. The receiving server checks the signature against a public key in your DNS records. If they match, the email is verified as genuinely from your domain.

GoHighLevel generates your DKIM keys and shows you the DNS record to add. You add it as a TXT or CNAME record. Once added and verified, every email you send is signed.

DMARC: what to do when authentication fails

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) tells email providers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks. The options are: none (just report), quarantine (send to spam), or reject (block the email).

Start with a "none" policy while you monitor reports. Once you have confirmed your legitimate emails are passing authentication, move to "quarantine" and eventually "reject".

DMARC also gives you reporting: you receive XML reports showing which servers are sending email from your domain. This helps you catch unauthorized sending.

Other deliverability tips for GoHighLevel

Warm up your domain before sending large campaigns. Start with small batches to your most engaged contacts and gradually increase volume over two to four weeks.

Keep your list clean. High bounce rates and spam complaints hurt your domain reputation. Remove contacts that have not engaged in a year.

Use a dedicated sending subdomain (like mail.yourbusiness.com instead of yourbusiness.com). This separates your email sending reputation from your main website domain.

Frequently asked questions