How to Set Up DNS Records for Your Domain

This guide walks you through setting up DNS records for your sending domain in Uprankly. Whether you use Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Porkbun, or any other DNS provider, Uprankly makes it simple.

What Gets Set Up

Every sending domain needs 4 DNS records to ensure your emails reach inboxes:

| Record | What It Does |

|--------|-------------|

| SPF | Tells email providers which servers can send on your behalf |

| DKIM | Adds a digital signature to prove emails are authentic |

| DMARC | Sets the policy for handling authentication failures |

| Tracking CNAME | Enables open/click tracking with full domain alignment |

Uprankly generates the correct values for all 4 records based on your email provider. You just need to add them to your DNS — or let Uprankly do it automatically.

Before You Start

Make sure you have:

• A secondary domain purchased (e.g., getacmeseo.com) — learn why you need one
• An email account created at your email provider (Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Hostinger, or Fastmail)
• Access to your DNS provider dashboard (Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Porkbun, or wherever your DNS is hosted)

Step-by-Step: Automatic Setup (Recommended)

If your DNS is hosted on Cloudflare, GoDaddy, or Porkbun, Uprankly can add all records for you automatically.

1. Go to Configuration → Email Accounts

2. In the Sending Domains section, click "+ Add Domain"

3. Enter your sending domain (e.g., `getacmeseo.com`) and click Next

4. Select your email provider:

• Google Workspace — most common, recommended
• Zoho Mail — popular alternative
• Hostinger or Fastmail — if you use these
• Other — enter your SPF include and DKIM selector manually

Click Next

5. Choose "Automatic — connect your DNS provider"

6. Select your DNS provider and enter your API credentials:

For Cloudflare:

• Go to Cloudflare Dashboard → My Profile → API Tokens
• Click "Create Token" → use the "Edit zone DNS" template
• Select your domain → Create Token → Copy the token
• Paste it into Uprankly

For GoDaddy:

• Go to developer.godaddy.com/keys
• Create a new Production API Key
• Copy both the API Key and API Secret
• Paste them into Uprankly

For Porkbun:

• Go to porkbun.com/account/api
• Enable API Access
• Copy your API Key and Secret API Key
• Paste them into Uprankly

7. Click "Set Up Domain"

Uprankly will:

1. Connect to your DNS provider
2. Add all 4 records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, Tracking CNAME)
3. Verify each record automatically
4. Set up SSL for your tracking domain

When you see the green checkmark screen — you are done. Your domain is ready for sending.

Step-by-Step: Manual Setup

If your DNS is hosted somewhere else (Namecheap, Route53, DigitalOcean, etc.), use the manual setup.

1. Follow steps 1–4 from the automatic setup above

5. Choose "Manual — I'll add the records myself"

6. Click "Set Up Domain"

Uprankly will show you 4 record cards, each with:

• Type — TXT or CNAME
• Name — where to add the record (e.g., `@`, `google.domainkey`, `dmarc`, `track`)
• Value — the exact value to paste

7. For each record:

• Click Copy to copy the value
• Go to your DNS provider's control panel
• Add a new DNS record with the Type, Name, and Value shown
• Save

8. Once you have added all 4 records, come back to Uprankly and click "Verify All Records"

Each record will show one of these statuses:

• ✅ Verified — record is live and correct
• ⚠️ Mismatch — record exists but has the wrong value
• ❌ Not found — record has not propagated yet

9. If some records show "Not found", wait a few minutes and click Verify again. DNS changes usually propagate within 5–15 minutes, but can take up to 48 hours.

10. When all 4 records show green checkmarks, your domain is ready.

Checking Your Domain Status

After setup, you can check your domain status at any time:

• Go to Configuration → Email Accounts
• Find your domain in the Sending Domains section
• Each domain card shows 4 status badges: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, Tracking
• Click Re-verify to check the current DNS state
• Click Manage to see full details, including linked email accounts

From the Configure Outbox Dialog

When you manage an individual email account, the Domain tab shows:

• If your domain has DNS records configured: a summary of all 4 record statuses
• If not: a prompt to set up DNS records with a link to the setup wizard

The tracking domain section below continues to work as before — you can still check and manage your tracking CNAME independently.

What If Records Are Missing?

If your domain shows missing records after initial setup:

1. Check your DNS panel — make sure the records were saved correctly
2. Wait for propagation — DNS changes can take time, especially for TXT records
3. Check the Name field — some DNS providers auto-append the domain (so entering `dmarc.getacmeseo.com` becomes `dmarc.getacmeseo.com.getacmeseo.com`). If this happens, enter just `_dmarc` without the domain.
4. Check for conflicts — if you already have an SPF record, you may need to merge them rather than add a second one. Only one SPF record is allowed per domain.
5. Re-verify — click the Re-verify button to check again after making changes

Provider-Specific Notes

Google Workspace users: Your DKIM key must be generated in the Google Admin Console (Apps → Gmail → Authenticate Email). Uprankly knows the correct selector (`google`) but the DKIM public key value comes from Google.

Zoho Mail users: Get your DKIM key from Zoho Admin → Email → Domain Verification → DKIM. The selector is `zmail`.

If you selected "Other": You will need to provide your email provider's SPF include value and DKIM selector. Check your email provider's documentation for these values.

Summary

| What you need | Where to find it |

|--------------|-----------------|

| Sending domain | Buy from any registrar |

| Email provider | Google Workspace, Zoho, Hostinger, Fastmail, or other |

| DNS access | Cloudflare, GoDaddy, Porkbun, or your DNS host's panel |

| DKIM key | Generated by your email provider |

Once all 4 DNS records are verified, connect your email accounts and start sending campaigns with confidence.