How to Quickly Add an SPF Record to GoDaddy

If you want to avoid the spam folder and have better open rates, you must set up SPF.

SPF is an email authentication method that can stop scammers in their tracks.

Through your SPF record, you decide which servers can send emails from your domain.

SPF, combined with other email authentication methods, keeps the bad guys out.

Internet service providers notice whether you have an SPF record set up, and if you do, you’re less likely to land in spam.

Use our guide below to set up a SPF record on GoDaddy.

What SPF Is ❓

SPF means Sender Policy Framework. SPF can prevent email spoofing and subsequent phishing attacks.

For each email, the receiving email server checks in the SPF record if the sending server is allowed to send email from that domain.

If the sending server isn’t included in the SPF record, the email will fail authentication.

As mentioned above, you decide which servers to include in your record.

For example, if you send emails from your Google Workspace account, you’ll want to add Google’s server to the SPF record.

Setting up SPF is not obligatory, but forget about not implementing it if you’re doing email outreach!

SPF is essential for superior open rates and increased security. It will help you land more inboxes and make it harder for criminals to abuse your domain.

Setting Up an SPF Record on GoDaddy 📝

Checking for existing SPF records ✔️

You cannot have multiple SPF records, as this will cause complications during authentication.

So, you have to check for existing SPF records first.

They look like this:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.somesendingdomain.com -all

In this case, only one email server can send email from the domain.

You can, however, add multiple servers, which is handy if you use various services to send email.

This is an SPF record with two allowed email servers:

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.somesendingdomain.com  include:_spf.google.com -all

Usually, your email service provider will give an SPF record to add to your domain provider’s DNS settings.

For example, if sending email from a Google service, your SPF record will look like this:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

If you already have an SPF record, you can add include:_spf.google.com to it in the same way we did above.

Adding an SPF record to GoDaddy DNS settings ⚙️

Let’s use the same SPF record we used above:

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

It’s time to turn our attention to GoDaddy:

1. ➡️ Log in to GoDaddy to go to the dashboard
2. ➡️ Click on My products and find your domain
3. ➡️ Now hit the DNS button
4. ➡️ Click Add on the DNS management page
5. ➡️ For Type, choose TXT
6. ➡️ Add a single @ to the Name field
7. ➡️ Add the SPF record to the Value field. For this example we’ll use v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all. However, if you’re not sending email through Google services, the record will differ somewhat. The include part will hold a different server domain.
8. ➡️ Click save!

That’s it!

We told you it’d be quick. ;-)

Not So Fast - Your Technical Is Not Complete 🫸

It can take up to 48 hours for your SPF record to propagate.

Normally, though, it’ll be active in a few hours.

While you wait, it’s a good idea to consider other parts of your technical setup like:

• Your domain’s MX records
• Your domain’s DMARC records
• Your domain’s DKIM records
• And your Custom Tracking Domain

Oh, and if you want to warm your email up, which you should, consider using an email warm-up service like lemwarm.

Without warming up your email, your chances of not reaching your audience’s inbox increase exponentially.

Once set up, lemwarm runs on autopilot and increases your email deliverability while you’re focusing on other tasks.