What is an SPF record? (plain English)
Think of SPF as a guest list on your domain’s front door for email. Only listed servers get to send mail that looks like it came from you.
US search interest: “spf record” ~2.9k/mo · “spf checker” ~5.4k/mo (DataForSEO).
What CrowWake checks
We look up the TXT record on your domain for a line that starts with v=spf1. We warn if there are multiple SPF records (that usually breaks validation), if the policy ends with +all (anyone can send), or if there is no clear ~all / -all ending.
Why it matters
Receivers (Gmail, Microsoft, and others) use SPF to decide whether a message claiming to be from you was sent from an allowed host. Bad or missing SPF is a common reason mail lands in spam—or gets rejected—especially after you add a new ESP, CRM, or marketing tool.
What “good enough” looks like
One SPF TXT record. It includes your real senders (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Mailchimp, transactional providers, and so on). It ends with ~all or -all—not +all. Keep the DNS lookup count under SPF’s limit (too many includes can silently fail).
If CrowWake crows
Missing SPF → publish one. Multiple SPF → merge into a single record. +all → tighten the ending. After DNS changes, give caches a few minutes, then confirm the dashboard turns green.
Watch this on CrowWake
Add the domain, leave the boxes checked, and the flock will crow when this drifts.