Setting Up DKIM and Tracking Domains
Step-by-step: verify a sending domain with DKIM and set up a branded tracking domain for email.
This guide covers two separate but related email setup tasks: verifying your sending domain with DKIM, and setting up a branded tracking domain for open/click tracking. Both are done from your domain's DNS settings, and both meaningfully affect how your emails are received.
What you'll need before starting
Access to your DNS settings at your domain registrar or DNS provider (wherever you manage records for the domain you send from), and a few minutes for DNS changes to propagate after you add them.
Part 1: Verify your sending domain with DKIM
1. Add a sending domain
From your Email settings, add the domain you send from (for example, the domain in your "from" address). This is the domain Mersal will generate DKIM signing records for.
2. Add the generated DNS records
Mersal generates the DNS records needed for DKIM — copy these into your domain's DNS settings at your registrar or DNS provider. This is typically a TXT record containing a public key that lets receiving mail servers verify that email claiming to come from your domain was actually sent through an authorized system.
3. Wait for DNS propagation
DNS changes aren't instant — propagation can take anywhere from a few minutes to longer, depending on your provider and existing DNS TTL settings.
4. Verify the domain
Once the records have had time to propagate, run the verification step in Mersal. It checks that the DNS records match what was generated and marks the domain as verified once they do.
Why DKIM matters
DKIM cryptographically signs your outgoing email so receiving mail servers (Gmail, Outlook, etc.) can confirm it genuinely came from your domain and wasn't spoofed or tampered with in transit. Without it, your emails are more likely to be flagged as suspicious or land in spam — verifying DKIM is one of the most impactful things you can do for inbox placement.
Part 2: Set up a tracking domain
1. Add a tracking domain
Separately from DKIM, add a tracking domain — typically a subdomain of your own domain (for example, something like track.yourdomain.com). This is the domain that open and click tracking links will use.
2. Add the DNS record for it
Mersal provides the DNS record needed to point that subdomain at its tracking infrastructure. Add this record at your DNS provider, the same way as the DKIM records.
3. Verify the tracking domain
After DNS propagates, verify the tracking domain in Mersal. Once verified, tracking links and pixels in your emails use your branded subdomain instead of a shared default tracking domain.
Why a branded tracking domain matters
Links that route through a generic, shared tracking domain look less trustworthy to recipients and to spam filters than links under your own domain. A branded tracking domain makes open/click tracking links match your brand, which tends to look more legitimate to both recipients and mail providers.
Next steps
- Email — the full feature reference for sending, SMTP configuration, and tracking.