{"id":24039,"date":"2022-04-18T10:28:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-18T14:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=24039"},"modified":"2025-08-13T14:45:59","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T18:45:59","slug":"how-to-set-up-bimi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/how-to-set-up-bimi","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up BIMI for Brand Recognition in the Inbox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t
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In a world where privacy measures continue to rise, it\u2019s imperative that our email programs continually instill trust and maintain a strong email reputation<\/a> with our subscribers. A key way to do that? Set up BIMI, or <\/span>Brand Indicators for Message Identification<\/span><\/a> for short.<\/span><\/p>\n

A survey by Red Sift found that BIMI resulted in a <\/span>90% increase in consumer confidence<\/span><\/a> in sender legitimacy. Since its <\/span>first formalized spec<\/span><\/a> in 2019, BIMI has come a long way with big names like Google, Verizon Media (which owns Yahoo Mail) behind this emerging email standard.<\/span><\/p>\n

With its growing adoption, now\u2019s the time to look into how to set up BIMI for your domain. We\u2019ll walk you through it in this blog post.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is BIMI?<\/span><\/h2>\n

We dive deeper into what BIMI is in <\/span>another blog post<\/span><\/a>, but to summarize here: BIMI allows you to use <\/span>brand-controlled logos<\/span><\/a> within supporting email clients.<\/span><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve likely seen it in action, in your own inbox. Take a look at the example below: The logo that appears next to the brand\u2019s message is known as a verified sender logo.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"example
Source: <\/span>Litmus\u2019 Getting Started with BIMI Guide<\/span><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

To sum it up, <\/span>BIMI allows you to display a sender logo alongside your messages in the inbox, when verified under a set of BIMI specifications.<\/strong> It\u2019s a way to verify your brand and sender information, similar to other <\/span>email authentication standards<\/span><\/a> you\u2019ve probably heard of, like <\/span>DMARC<\/span><\/a>, DKIM, and SPF. And, just like those others, BIMI is essentially a text record that lives on your servers. Email clients that support BIMI will check for that record to confirm that your emails are legit (like for an email deliverability audit<\/a>)<\/span><\/p>\n

The feature that distinguishes BIMI? During the verification process, email clients will pull in your brand logo to display alongside your message. So, not only does BIMI authenticate you behind the scenes, it puts your brand front and center in subscribers\u2019 inboxes, creating a better, more memorable experience in the process.<\/span><\/p>\n

And since email subscribers deliver an average of <\/span>$36 return for every $1 invested<\/span><\/a>\u2014giving an experience to remember is worth your effort!<\/span><\/p>\n

How to set up BIMI<\/span><\/h2>\n

When BIMI was first introduced, the setup process was fairly involved, requiring approval to participate in the pilot program run by the AuthIndicators Working Group ( guides the development of BIMI). Over the years, the setup process has been simplified. In fact, you might\u2019ve completed half the setup unknowingly if you\u2019re using authentication protocols like DMARC already.<\/span><\/p>\n

For those just getting started\u2014or anyone who wants a refresher\u2014here\u2019s a step-by-step guide to getting BIMI set up for your domain.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Authenticate your organization\u2019s emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC<\/span><\/h3>\n

BIMI isn\u2019t a one-stop solution for sender verification. It works in tandem with existing authentication protocols to tell recipients that you are, in fact, who you say you are. So, you\u2019ll need to make sure that your sending domain has SPF, DKIM, and DMARC (three standards in the email industry) properly implemented.<\/span><\/p>\n

Specifically, you\u2019ll want to:<\/span><\/p>\n