Deliverability and infrastructure

DKIM

DomainKeys Identified Mail

Definition

DKIM, DomainKeys Identified Mail, adds a cryptographic signature to each email so receivers can verify it came from your domain and was not altered.

DKIM in practice

DKIM is defined in RFC 6376. Your sending service signs each message with a private key, and you publish the matching public key in DNS at a selector, for example google._domainkey.yourdomain.com. The receiver fetches that key and checks the signature in the DKIM-Signature header.

Every service that sends as your domain needs its own DKIM key set up, including your sequencing tool if it relays mail. Google's guidance is a 2048-bit key where your DNS host supports it, and 1024 bits at minimum. DKIM survives forwarding better than SPF, which is why DMARC alignment usually leans on it.

Check your DKIM record RFC 6376: DKIM Signatures

Direct connections. Open the full map

Last updated 2026-10-14 by Ishan Vats.

Connected to

Part of

Sending domainA sending domain is the domain your outbound email is sent from, often a separate lookalike of your main domain to protect its reputation.

Feeds into

See where DKIM fits in a real build.

Book the free 30 minute signal audit. We map the buying signals for your ICP live on the call, and show you where DKIM sits in the system we would build.

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01You talk. Who you sell to and what you send today.
02We map. The signals that fire for your ICP and the two to start with.
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Ishan Vats, founder of IV Consulting. We run our own outbound on the same system.

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