Dedicated IP addresses can be powerful tools to influence more control over one's deliverability. However, it is also important to know if one truly needs a dedicated IP address and what steps are to be taken after upgrading to PRO/Advanced or adding an additional IP addresses to one of these plans.
Do I really need a dedicated IP address ?
Dedicated IP addresses are proven to improve the performance of your email campaigns. Having a dedicated IP address helps you to manage your own reputation and protects from influence of other senders. Most of the time, users are not really sure if an IP address is required or not.
The first thing to keep in mind is your email volume. It is very important to keep your IP warmed up to boost the deliverability and minimize the rejections or filtering from recipient servers.
Steps to be taken after getting a dedicated IP address are outlined below.
Setting up Reverse DNS :
The first thing we recommend customers as soon as they get a dedicated IP address is to configure Reverse DNS. Setting up reverse DNS on an IP address allows mailbox providers to verify the sender when they do a reverse DNS lookup upon receipt of the emails you send. When you update your DNS provider with a DNS record provided by SendGrid, and then send mail over your IP, the recipient's email service provider performs a reverse DNS lookup (RDNS) using an A Record (address record). An A Record maps your domain to your IP address. When a mailbox provider looks up your A Record, they see your SendGrid IP address. When they look at your IP address, they see the RDNS that matches your A Record. This circular checking proves your SendGrid IP association with your domain and your domain association with your SendGrid IP.
More detailed information and steps to set up RDNS can be found here.
Following Warm up :
When you add a new dedicated IP address to your account, you need to warm it up. You also need to warm up your IP if you have no email traffic on it in more than 30 days.
IP warming is the practice of gradually increasing the volume of mail sent with a dedicated IP address according to a predetermined schedule. This gradual process helps to establish a reputation with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) as a legitimate email sender.
More information on IP warm up can be found here.
Keeping track of IP reputation :
Just as setting up reverse DNS and following warm up schedule, keeping a tab on your IP reputation also plays a key role. In the world of emails, black listings are inevitable. The prime responsibility of sender is to monitor the reputation and request delisting whenever they find their IP listed. Below are the top two websites we recommend
Please check this document for direct links to delisting submissions.
The following are some third party tools available to assist you in maintaining your reputation:
A gradual warmup does not always guarantee a perfect sending reputation. It is still important to follow sending best practices.