This article explains how iRealty authenticates your emails so they reach the inbox and stay out of spam — and how authenticating your own domain gives you the best results.
💡 Pro tip: Authenticating your own domain is a five-minute job for your IT person and is the single best thing you can do to improve your email delivery.
💡 Pro tip: Your emails are already authenticated and sending from day one — authenticating your domain is an upgrade, not a fix for something broken.
What is email authentication?
Email authentication is the behind-the-scenes set of checks that prove an email genuinely comes from where it claims to. Inbox providers like Gmail and Outlook use these checks to decide whether to deliver your email to the inbox, send it to junk, or bounce it. When your emails are properly authenticated, they are trusted, land in the inbox more often, and bounce less.
iRealty authenticates every client's emails. You don't have to do anything to get started — but you can opt in to a stronger level of authentication on your own domain for the best results.
The two levels of authentication
Every iRealty account is authenticated in one of two ways. You are always covered by at least one of them.
Level 1 — Authenticating your own domain (recommended)
Level 1 is where you authorise iRealty to send emails on behalf of your own domain (for example, youremail@youragency.com.au). Your IT person or domain provider adds a few records to your domain, which usually takes only a few minutes. Once they're in place, your emails send from your own address and benefit from your domain's reputation.
Level 2 — The iRealty subdomain (default)
Level 2 is the built-in option that every account starts on, and it requires nothing from you. Because iRealty owns and maintains the mypropertyemail.com.au domain, we can fully authorise your emails automatically. The only difference is that your emails send from a longer address — for example youremail@youragency.mypropertyemail.com.au — instead of your own domain.
Your emails on Level 2 are still fully authenticated and deliver well. Level 1 simply gives you a cleaner "from" address and builds your own domain's sending reputation.
How to authenticate your own domain (Level 1)
Setting up Level 1 is a quick task for whoever manages your domain — your in-house IT, an external IT supplier, or your domain registrar.
- Let us know you'd like to authenticate your own domain, and we'll generate your records.
- We'll send you a CSV file containing the DNS records that need to be added — three DKIM records and one SPF record.
- Forward the CSV to your IT person or domain provider and ask them to add the records to your domain.
- Let us know once they've been added. Our system checks automatically for the first three days; after that, just reply to confirm and we'll run the final check and switch you over.
The records we send are:
- DKIM — three records that let our mail servers digitally "sign" each of your emails, so receiving servers can confirm the email is genuine.
- SPF — one record that lists iRealty as an approved sender for your domain. We combine this with any existing senders you already have, so your other email keeps working.
Important: your IT person should replace your existing SPF record with the combined one we provide — a domain can only have one SPF record, and having two will stop authentication working.
Already have DKIM set up?
If you already use DKIM on your domain and have an existing token you'd like to keep, just let us know and we'll work with it rather than replacing it.
A note on DMARC
DMARC is a further layer of email authentication that tells inbox providers what to do with mail that fails the DKIM and SPF checks. We recommend DMARC as part of best-practice authentication. However, because a DMARC policy affects all email from your domain — including your everyday Outlook, Google Workspace, or accounting-system mail — we don't add DMARC records automatically. If you'd like to set up DMARC, get in touch and we'll guide you through it safely.
Checking your setup
You or your IT person can confirm your records are live using these free tools. Just enter your domain.
- Check DKIM, SPF and DMARC together — MxToolbox SuperTool
- Check SPF — DMARC Manager SPF Check
- Check SPF — URIports SPF Validator
Keep in mind that DNS changes can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to take effect, so if a record doesn't show up straight away, wait a little and check again.
Why this matters
- Higher delivery rates and fewer bounces.
- Higher and more consistent open rates.
- Better inbox placement and sender reputation.
- Ongoing benefit as more inbox providers prioritise properly authenticated mail.
Need Help?
If you have any questions about email authentication in iRealty, please feel free to reach out to:
📞 1300 855 982