I just found out my domain's emails have been going to the spam folder of gmail recipients. I did some research and I put the following in my DNS records for my domain name:
TXT - "v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all"
I'm not sure if I have to put anything before the spf like my server's IP address or a or mx in some configurations I see. I mainly use my google apps domain email by using my plain gmail account and set "Send As" to send from the domain specific emails.
Is there something else I am missing or overlooking that I need to do to resolve this issue?
If you're only using google apps to send emails then that's the correct SPF record.
If you want to be sure, the best thing you can do is send an email to
[email protected]
[email protected]
They are know as reflectors and will auto-respond with your configuration, letting you know if you have your SPF set up correctly.
If you're unsure of what you need just use an SPF Wizard, but I think based on your description you're 100% fine. The MX and A just tells the receiving mail server that if the mail comes from you MX or A of your domain, then it's a good email, but you're sending from google, so you wouldn't need it.
Also with GMAIL in-boxing takes time and SPF isn't the magic cure, but it helps.