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Are Your Emails to Gmail Accounts Bouncing?

Customer Service, ecommerce, Email, Google, Marketing, Tips / By /

If you send emails to Gmail users for your business, this information is extremely important. It could mean the difference between your messages hitting the inbox or bouncing back with an error.

Don't think it is important? Consider this: In the United States, Gmail holds a 50% market share for email clients! If your emails aren't getting through to Gmail, you are missing half your audience.

Google has significantly tightened its security rules to combat spam and phishing. If your domain isn't properly authenticated, Google will block or bounce your legitimate emails.

To keep your emails delivering smoothly, Google requires three core authentication methods to be set up in your domain’s DNS (Domain Name System) settings: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

The Big Three: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

Think of these three records as a digital passport, a verified signature, and an instruction manual for your emails.

  1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This is a list published on your domain that specifies exactly which mail servers and IP addresses are authorized to send email on your behalf.
  2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): This adds a secure, cryptographic signature to the header of every email you send. It proves that the email truly originated from your domain and wasn't altered in transit.
  3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): This is the missing puzzle piece that ties SPF and DKIM together. A DMARC policy tells receiving servers (like Gmail) exactly what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks. You can set it to do nothing but report it (p=none), quarantine it to the spam folder (p=quarantine), or reject/bounce it entirely (p=reject).

Google requires a minimum DMARC policy of p=none for bulk senders, but having it active is essential for baseline delivery.

What You Need to Do Next

Check your records: Reach out to your email or web hosting provider to see if your domain has active SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.

For many years, when new domains were registered, systems might have automatically generated a basic SPF record, but rarely a DKIM or DMARC record. Today, you must actively ensure all three are configured correctly.

Because modifying DNS records requires precision, it is highly recommended to have a professional handle it to avoid accidentally disrupting your website or current email flow.

If you are a WebWise Design & Marketing client, and you are experiencing email bounces, please reach out to us. We can review your current DNS setup, implement the necessary SPF, DKIM, and DMARC updates, and make sure your business communications keep landing exactly where they belong, in the recipient's inbox.

Elite Forklift Safety Training Website

Announcement, SMB / By /
Elite Forklift Safety Training imageRecently, the team at WebWise Design & Marketing had the opportunity to work with Adam Schmidt, owner of Elite Forklift Safety Training. During our initial discovery meeting, we discussed Adam’s goals, target audience, and budget, and quickly determined that our WebWise Small Business (SMB) Starter Website package was the ideal solution for his new business.

Adam brings extensive knowledge and real-world experience in forklift safety training. Like many small business owners launching a new venture, his goal was to establish a professional online presence quickly and affordably while maximizing visibility within his service area.

Elite Forklift Safety Training provides OSHA-compliant forklift safety training for small to mid-sized businesses, particularly companies that do not have an in-house safety coordinator or trainer. Adam primarily serves businesses throughout the greater Madison area and Southwest Wisconsin.

Once Adam provided the website content and information he wanted included, our team promptly developed a demo website for review. From there, we refined the content with additional search engine optimization (SEO) enhancements to help improve online visibility and search performance. After reviewing the final updates, Adam approved the demo website for launch, and we successfully published his new website.
https://eliteforkliftsafety.com/

We are proud to help small business owners like Adam create a professional digital presence that supports their growth and long-term success.

 

 

Two quick ways to jump-start your new website in Google SERPS

Ads - Pay-Per-Click, Google, Marketing, Search, SEO, Social Media / By /

1. Use Google Ads

We always suggest to our new clients that they use Google Ads to jump-start the new web presence. (It is also a good marketing tool for a redesigned website or doing a new product launch, among other things.)

An inexpensive Google Ads campaign gets your name, along with a description you control, at or near the top of search results pages and can keep it there while your individual pages get indexed and, if they are created properly with good content, starting earning their way up the organic listing rankings in Google.

2. Use X (Formerly Twitter)

We announce all new websites we launch for our clients. Those “posts” show up in Google very quickly. In fact, it happens sometimes in seconds and always in a very few minutes. The URL in that tweet gets indexed as well. There is no waiting for Google to “discover” your website from a link on another website or from your sitemap.xml (ask your webmaster if you have a sitemap.xml). In the example, I did the search about 70 minutes after using Twitter to announce the launch.

Google SERP of Tweet

Even though we tweet about our client websites, we highly recommend that they, and others, use X to get news of their website, not only to those in the Twitter universe, but to Google as well. It only takes a quick tweet and delivers a lot of benefit.

Summary: Google Ads and X (Formerly Twitter), Two quick ways to jump-start your new website in Google search engine results pages.

Small Businesses Supporting Small Businesses

Announcement, Marketing, SMB, Web Design, Web Development / By /

National-Small-Business-Week imageNational Small Business Week - May 3 - 9, 2026 is about more than recognition—it’s about connection.

Small businesses don’t operate in isolation. They rely on their communities, their customers, and often, each other. When one business grows, it contributes to the strength of the entire local economy.

At WebWise Design & Marketing, we continually strive to be a part of that network. Our role is to support small businesses with the tools and strategies they need to succeed in today’s digital landscape.

But at the core of it all is something simple: understanding.

  • We live and understand the challenges.
  • We live and understand the objectives.
  • And we’re committed to helping small businesses move forward successfully.

When small businesses succeed, communities thrive.

New Trillium Midwifery Website

Announcement, Web Design, Web Development / By /

The WebWise Design & Marketing team had the privilege of working with Alison Spany to design and develop an all-new look for Trillium Midwifery, located in Boscobel, Wisconsin. Alison and her team provide home and birth center options for women with low-risk pregnancies throughout southwest Wisconsin and northeast Iowa.

Trillium Midwifery serves a clientele seeking a more natural birth experience. Births can take place either in the comfort of the client’s home or at the Trillium Midwifery Clinic and Birth Center in Boscobel.

Alison also had four excellent videos, including a tour of the clinic and birth center. We recommended creating a Custom YouTube Channel @TrilliumMidwifery (to showcase these videos and take full advantage of the benefits it offers—especially improved SEO (search engine optimization) for her website.