Set Up Your Email Domain in Omnisend

Using a custom email domain for sending your campaigns and automation emails is a top deliverability requirement. It helps improve deliverability and strengthen brand recognition.

This article will teach you how to automatically sign, verify, and use your sender custom domain in Omnisend.

A custom domain for your email marketing might seem minor in the bigger marketing picture, but it's crucial.

1. Authenticate your emails

Domain signing authenticates your emails, helping Internet Service Providers (ISPs) trust the sender. This strengthens your sender reputation and increases your chances of landing in the primary inbox since mailbox providers factor domain reputation into delivery decisions.

2. Increase your brand awareness

A custom domain reinforces your brand identity and makes your emails more recognizable. Including your brand name in the sender domain helps you stand out from competitors and build trust with your audience.

3. Improve email performance

In Omnisend, we recommend using separate subdomains for Campaigns and Automations. Root domains are often overloaded with other uses, which can hurt email performance. For better deliverability and clarity between message types:

This separation is considered best practice for managing promotional and transactional emails.

To see whether you're using a shared or custom (dedicated) domain, go to Store settings → Domains.

You’ll see one of the following statuses:

Step 1. Find Sender Domain settings in Store settings → Domains.

Step 2. In order to sign your own domain, click + Add domain button.
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Step 3. Choose the Email option for the domain. 

Step 4. Select your domain provider.

Step 5. Provide the exact domain (or sub-domain) you want to use for your Campaigns and/or Automation.

Click on your domain name in Omnisend to view the SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records you need to add to your DNS provider's settings.

On the Domain setup page, you’ll see the records you need to add to your DNS provider’s settings, along with step-by-step instructions based on the domain provider you selected.

You can find further instructions provided by the most popular DNS provider in our dedicated article. If you face any problems, we highly encourage you to follow our troubleshooting tips. 

However, if you don't find the provided instructions helpful, reach out to your DNS provider for more detailed and personalized instructions. Remember that different DNS providers may have varying rules for adding these records.

Once you've added the required records to your DNS settings, return to Omnisend and click Finish verification to start the domain verification process.

Your verification status will update to In progress, and Omnisend will begin checking your DNS records on the backend. You’ll receive an email notification once the process is complete or if there’s an issue.

While waiting, you can manually check if your SPF and DKIM records were added correctly using this tool. Enter your domain name, and the tool will show whether your records are properly configured or if there are any errors.

After verifying your records, the system will label your domain as either Verified or Unverified. If verification fails, you’ll see which specific records (SPF, DKIM, or DMARC) caused the issue, along with the reason for the failure and steps to troubleshoot it.

As the final step, you must assign the verified domain/subdomain to your Campaigns or Automations. Click on the dropdown and select both the domain/subdomain for your Campaigns and Automations.

After verification, you should also switch to a branded sender email address so recipients can easily recognize your messages.

Example: If your domain is store.com, use a sender address like [email protected].

If your domain fails to verify, Omnisend will prompt you to fix the setup from several areas in your account, including:

To proceed with authenticating your domain, click 'Fix setup' from any of the locations mentioned above in your account.

You’ll be redirected to the Domain setup page, where you can see which of the three records (SPF, DKIM, or DMARC) needs to be fixed, along with step-by-step instructions.

Any record marked Not Found needs to be added to your DNS settings. Once you've updated your DNS, click Verify in the bottom-right corner of the page.

To ensure your combined SPF record is valid, check the syntax here.

How will the recipients see the email sent from my store after I sign a custom domain? 

When you send emails via Omnisend's shared domain, recipients see our shared domain in the sender field.

Once you sign your custom domain, recipients will see your store's domain. This improves deliverability and promotes your brand.

If your sender domain and sender email address use the same domain (e.g., sender domain basicpiece.com and Sender email newsletter@basicpiece.com), Gmail will display the sender info as follows:

Are there recommendations for creating DMARC records?

Yes. A basic DMARC record meeting Gmail and Yahoo requirements is provided in the Domain Authentication step. For a more advanced record, use DMARCIAN for its step-by-step wizard.

How long does domain verification take?

DNS verification typically takes 30 minutes, but can take up to 24–48 hours depending on your DNS provider. Omnisend will email you once verification is complete. If it's been longer than 48 hours, check for typos in your DNS records or contact your DNS provider to confirm propagation.

Why is my domain still showing "Not Found" or "Couldn't verify" after I added the records?

This usually means DNS records haven't propagated yet (can take up to 48 hours), or there's a typo in the Name or Value fields. Double-check your records match exactly what Omnisend shows, and use MXToolbox or whatsmydns.net to confirm records are visible. If records are correct and it's been 48+ hours, contact your DNS provider.