Sender Authentication Package

Marketing Cloud uses Sender Authentication Package (SAP) to customize links and images to match the branding of the authenticated domain that you’re sending email from.

Consideration: SAP can be used if you send more than 250,000 email messages per month and when you don’t want Marketing Cloud default branding appearing in your links or images.

To Enable this feature Contact Marketing Cloud Account representative.

The Sender Authentication Package (SAP) in Marketing Cloud refers to a set of features and configurations aimed at enhancing email deliverability and security by authenticating the sender's identity. It includes various protocols and techniques to verify that emails sent from Marketing Cloud are legitimate and not spoofed or altered by unauthorized parties. These authentication mechanisms help in building trust with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and email recipients, ultimately improving inbox placement rates and reducing the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.

The Sender Authentication Package typically includes the following components:

1. DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM): DKIM is a method for associating a domain name with an email message, allowing a person, role, or organization to claim some responsibility for the message. It allows the receiver to check that an email claimed to come from a specific domain was indeed authorized by the owner of that domain.

2. Sender Policy Framework (SPF): SPF is an email authentication protocol that allows the owner of a domain to specify which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of that domain. It helps prevent email spoofing by verifying the sender's IP address against a list of authorized sending servers.

3. Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC): DMARC is a policy and reporting protocol that builds on top of SPF and DKIM to provide further assurance about the authenticity of an email message. It allows domain owners to publish policies on how their emails should be handled if they fail SPF or DKIM checks and provides feedback to senders about emails claiming to be from their domains.

4. Custom Tracking Domains: This feature allows users to use custom tracking domains instead of the default Marketing Cloud domains for tracking links in emails. Using custom domains can enhance brand consistency and improve deliverability by aligning tracking URLs with the sender's domain.

By implementing these authentication mechanisms and configuring them correctly within Marketing Cloud, organizations can establish a strong sender identity, mitigate the risk of email fraud, and maximize the chances of their emails reaching recipients' inboxes.