What This Alert Does
The SPF DKIM Alignments and Delivery Rate Drops alert monitors your email authentication performance and delivery success. It automatically notifies you when your email security measures or delivery rates drop below acceptable levels, helping you maintain strong email security and deliverability.
When You'll Receive This Alert
This alert activates each time a new email report is processed for domains where you've enabled this monitoring feature. The system checks your email performance over the past 7 days and sends notifications if any issues are detected.
What Triggers the Alert
The alert monitors three key email metrics and will notify you when any of them fall below 90%:
SPF Alignment Issues
Your alert will trigger if fewer than 90% of your emails pass SPF (Sender Policy Framework) alignment checks. SPF alignment ensures that emails claiming to be from your domain are actually sent from authorized servers.
What's measured: The percentage of emails that successfully align with your SPF records
Time period: Rolling 7-day window
Threshold: Below 90% alignment rate
DKIM Alignment Issues
You'll receive an alert if fewer than 90% of your emails pass DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) alignment checks. DKIM alignment verifies that emails haven't been tampered with during delivery and come from your authorized domain.
What's measured: The percentage of emails that successfully align with your DKIM signatures
Time period: Rolling 7-day window
Threshold: Below 90% alignment rate
Delivery Rate Problems
The alert activates when fewer than 90% of your emails are successfully delivered (meaning more than 10% are being quarantined or rejected by recipient email servers).
What's measured: The percentage of emails that reach recipient inboxes without being quarantined or rejected
Time period: Rolling 7-day window
Threshold: Below 90% delivery rate
How the Monitoring Works
- Automatic Checking: Every time new email data is processed, the system automatically reviews your domain's performance
- Data Analysis: The system examines email records from the past 7 days to calculate current performance rates
- Threshold Evaluation: Your SPF alignment, DKIM alignment, and delivery rates are each compared against the 90% threshold
- Alert Generation: If any metric falls below 90%, you'll receive a notification explaining which area needs attention
What You'll See in Alert Notifications
When the alert triggers, you'll receive specific information about what's happening:
- For SPF/DKIM Issues: The notification will tell you exactly which authentication method (SPF, DKIM, or both) has dropped below the 90% threshold
- For Delivery Issues: You'll see your current delivery rate percentage so you know how significant the problem is
- Multiple Issues: If several metrics are below threshold simultaneously, you may receive notifications about multiple problems
Important Notes
- One Alert Per Account: You can only set up one instance of this alert type per user account
- Rolling Window: The 7-day monitoring period continuously updates, so you're always seeing recent performance
- Proactive Monitoring: This alert helps catch problems early before they significantly impact your email program's reputation
Why This Alert Matters
Maintaining high SPF alignment, DKIM alignment, and delivery rates is crucial for:
- Protecting your domain from email spoofing and phishing attempts
- Ensuring your legitimate emails reach recipient inboxes
- Maintaining good sender reputation with email providers
- Meeting email security best practices and compliance requirements
When you receive this alert, it's important to investigate and address the underlying issues promptly to maintain your email program's effectiveness and security.