+1 908-308-9325info@xeal.netStrategy · AI engineering · Delivery
Email

Email deliverability, fixed at the source

Real DNS work, real testing, real ongoing monitoring for local businesses whose mail lands in junk.

What if I don't want DMARC enforcement (p=reject)?

From Tony

I have watched teams rebuild creative while their domain authentication was broken. Email is infrastructure first. Stories second. Spam folder last.

Domain authentication and inbox deliverability
Domain authentication and inbox deliverability

Fine. Tier 1 stops at p=none with monitoring. That alone will resolve the majority of local business deliverability issues because the SPF and DKIM foundation is what matters most for reaching the inbox. Enforcement adds anti-spoofing protection and is required for BIMI, but it is not required for basic deliverability.

How is this different from what my hosting company or IT guy would do?

Most hosting companies and general IT people know SPF exists but do not understand DKIM alignment, DMARC report analysis, subdomain strategy, or ESP specific configuration. They also do not monitor after they finish. We do this every day, we run the full ramp from broken to enforced, and we watch it for you afterward. The 91 percent of domains globally without DMARC enforcement are almost all sitting under a "we already have IT" arrangement.

How long until I see results?

Most Tier 1 clients see spam folder rates drop within 3 to 7 days of the fix, because mailbox providers recheck authentication on every new message. Full reputation recovery on badly damaged domains can take 4 to 8 weeks.

Do you handle Apple Mail deliverability?

Yes. Apple Mail uses the same SPF, DKIM, and DMARC signals as Google and Microsoft, plus its own reputation model. The same fix works for Apple. Apple Mail also supports BIMI (Tier 2 and 3).

What happens if I cancel the monthly?

Your DNS records remain in place and functional. Your email keeps authenticating. You just lose the ongoing DMARC monitoring, the reports, and the quarterly drift checks. Most clients keep the monthly because a new tool added six months later without proper DKIM will re-break the domain, and monitoring is what catches that on day one instead of month six.

Who This Is For

  • Local businesses whose team tells customers to "check the spam folder"
  • Professional services (legal, medical, dental, financial, real estate) where email is the primary client communication channel
  • Home services, contractors, med spas, salons, and appointment based businesses running reminder flows
  • Businesses using HighLevel, Mailchimp, ActiveCampaign, Klaviyo, Constant Contact, or any CRM sending as their domain
  • Owners who process card payments and need PCI DSS v4.0 DMARC compliance
  • Anyone whose brand is worth protecting from spoofing and phishing

Who This Is NOT For

  • High volume ESPs and mail service providers with dedicated deliverability engineers on staff
  • Businesses that do not use email at all (rare, but they exist)
  • Fully offline operations with no CRM, no invoicing, no appointment reminders
Email systems wired to real workflows
Email systems wired to real workflows

How We Do It, A Reference for the Technically Curious

Most business owners do not need to read this. Every item below is handled for you. This section exists so IT teams, agencies, and technical buyers can see the full stack.

DNS records we manage

  • SPF (v=spf1), correctly built, under 10 lookups, flattened where required
  • DKIM (selector._domainkey), 2048-bit keys, d= aligned to your organizational domain, rotated on a schedule for higher tiers
  • DMARC (_dmarc), ramped from p=none with rua= reporting, through p=quarantine, to p=reject where appropriate, with sp= for subdomain policy and adkim=/aspf= alignment mode configured explicitly
  • MTA-STS (_mta-sts policy + policy file hosted at mta-sts.)
  • TLS-RPT (_smtp._tls) for encryption reporting
  • BIMI (default._bimi) with l= logo URL and a= VMC/CMC PEM (Tier 2 and 3)
  • Reverse DNS (PTR) verified against forward DNS (FCrDNS)

Reporting and monitoring

  • DMARC aggregate report (RUA) ingestion, parsing, and alerting
  • DMARC forensic report (RUF) collection where providers still send them
  • Google Postmaster Tools domain verification and daily reputation tracking
  • Microsoft SNDS (Smart Network Data Services) registration and IP/domain reputation monitoring
  • Yahoo Sender Hub connection
  • Talos, SenderScore, Barracuda, and Spamhaus blacklist monitoring (Tier 3)

Sending source configuration we handle

  • Google Workspace (custom DKIM, alignment)
  • Microsoft 365 (DKIM signing, alignment, tenant hardening)
  • HighLevel / GoHighLevel (LC Email, Mailgun routing, sub-account isolation, dedicated domain setup)
  • Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot, Constant Contact, MailerLite, Brevo
  • SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Amazon SES, SparkPost
  • Instantly, Smartlead, Lemlist, and other cold outreach platforms (with strong reservations, we will tell you honestly whether your setup is sustainable)
  • QuickBooks, Stripe, FreshBooks, Xero, and other invoicing platforms
  • Calendly, Acuity, and appointment scheduling tools
  • Website contact forms sending via SMTP or transactional API
  • Zapier, Make, n8n workflows that send email

Deliverability testing tools we use

  • Mail-tester.com for pre and post fix scoring
  • MXToolbox for DNS record validation
  • GlockApps or Mailtrap for inbox placement across seed accounts
  • DKIMValidator, DMARC Analyzer, and Postmark's DMARC digest
  • Custom inbox seed testing across Gmail (Consumer + Workspace), Outlook.com, Microsoft 365, Yahoo, iCloud/Apple Mail, and Fastmail

Everything above is standard on every build. You do not need to know any of it exists to get the results. It is here because we think you deserve to see what you are actually buying.

Tell me who sends as you and where mail lands today. We will fix DNS, authentication, and the tools that burn reputation.

Results clients talk about

Real operators who worked with Tony and Xeal on messy growth problems.

Jonathan CoxColleague and collaborator

Tony is an innovator, and a persistent one at that. When he's got a vision, he pursues it whole-heartedly. His attitude is consistently positive, and he's inspiring to work with. He genuinely cares about his clients, his employees, and the difference his business makes in the world. He's always made good on the promises he's made to his clients.

Client
Christian OphusWWJD Global Outreach | Emerge Publishing

Tony Baker is without question one of the most creative and innovative marketing professionals of our time. He is a real thought-leader who is always three steps ahead of the industry. I have relied on him time and time again for creative collaboration and internet marketing services.

Client

Read more client stories →

Ready to stop guessing?

Tell me who sends as you and where mail lands today. We will fix DNS, authentication, and the tools that burn reputation.