Email authentication has become essential to protect your brand and improve deliverability. Most domain owners are familiar with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, but few have implemented the next evolution in email trust signals: BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification).
In 2025, BIMI adoption is rising as inbox providers prioritize authenticated domains that visually reinforce trust. This article explains how BIMI works, why it matters after DMARC, and how domain owners can use it to protect their brand and improve inbox visibility.
A Quick Recap: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Specifies which IPs can send email on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Cryptographically signs outgoing messages to verify their source.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): Tells mailbox providers what to do with unauthenticated emails (reject, quarantine, or none).
Together, these protocols prevent spoofing and phishing, but they don’t give users a visible trust signal.
What Is BIMI?
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is an email specification that allows domain owners to display their verified brand logo alongside authenticated emails in recipients' inboxes. While SPF, DKIM, and DMARC work behind the scenes to authenticate your domain, BIMI creates a visual confirmation of your brand’s legitimacy for users.
- Requiring you to publish a BIMI record in your domain’s DNS.
- Using a secure, verified logo (SVG Tiny 1.2 format) hosted over HTTPS.
- Optionally validating your logo with a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) to further authenticate your brand.
When these conditions are met, mailbox providers like Gmail and Yahoo display your logo next to your sender name, giving recipients a clear, visual trust signal.
Example:
Instead of showing a generic letter icon, Gmail displays your company’s logo next to your sender name, boosting recognition and trust at first glance.
The Business Case for BIMI
Builds Immediate Trust
Visual brand recognition increases email credibility, reducing the risk of users ignoring or deleting your messages.
Boosts Open Rates
Studies show branded sender images can increase open rates by 5–10%.
Demonstrates Security Maturity
A properly configured BIMI record signals your domain has strong DMARC enforcement—a competitive security differentiator.
Enhances Brand Consistency
Your logo appears consistently across email platforms, reinforcing your brand identity.
Is BIMI Required by Inbox Providers?
No, but inbox providers prioritize DMARC-protected senders, and BIMI is increasingly seen as a sign of trustworthiness. Providers like Google, Yahoo, Apple Mail, and Fastmail already support it, while others are evaluating its adoption.
BIMI Setup Requirements
To implement BIMI, domain owners must:
- Ensure their domain has SPF and DKIM correctly configured.
- Enforce DMARC with a "quarantine" or "reject" policy. Domains with a "none" policy do not qualify.
- Publish a BIMI DNS record pointing to a hosted SVG Tiny 1.2 logo file over HTTPS.
- Optionally, obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC) from an authorized certificate authority such as Entrust or DigiCert. While not mandatory, a VMC increases your chances of displaying your logo in major inboxes like Gmail and Apple Mail.
How to Set Up BIMI for Your Domain
Step 1: Ensure DMARC Is Fully Enforced
Set your DMARC policy to "quarantine" or "reject." A "none" policy does not meet BIMI requirements. Step 2: Prepare Your Logo
- Hosting: HTTPS-enabled public URL on your domain.
- Design: Clear, simple, and recognizable, ideally square to fit most inbox layouts.
Step 3: Publish a BIMI TXT Record in DNS
Example: bimi.example.com. IN TXT "v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/logo.svg;"
Step 4 (Optional): Obtain a Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)
A VMC verifies that your brand legally owns the logo being displayed.
Step 5: Test Across Mailbox Providers
Use BIMI testing tools and send test emails to validate your logo display in different inboxes.
Common BIMI Missteps
- Using an incorrect logo format or dimensions.
- Forgetting to enforce DMARC beyond "none."
- Hosting the logo on an insecure or inaccessible server.
- Neglecting to renew the Verified Mark Certificate.
Future of BIMI and Email Authentication
- Wider adoption of VMC as a security baseline for inbox logo display.
- AI-driven inboxes giving more weight to BIMI-authenticated senders when filtering promotional emails.
- BIMI support expanding beyond promotional emails into transactional and notification communications.
Conclusion
BIMI isn’t just another email protocol; it’s a branding and security signal rolled into one. After you’ve implemented SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, BIMI is the natural next step in securing your domain’s email identity.
In a crowded inbox, your logo could be the trust signal that gets your email opened.
NameSilo helps you protect your domain’s email identity with secure DNS management for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, giving your brand a trusted presence in every inbox.
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