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Glossary Term

MX Records (Mail Exchange Records)

DNS records that specify which mail servers receive email for your domain.

What is MX Records (Mail Exchange Records)?

MX (Mail Exchange) records tell other mail servers where to deliver email addressed to your domain. When someone sends an email to you@yourdomain.com, their mail server looks up your MX records to find where to route the message.

MX records include a priority value - lower numbers mean higher priority. If your primary mail server is unavailable, email is delivered to backup servers with higher priority numbers.

For cold email, MX records determine which email service handles your incoming mail (replies). Most cold email setups use Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, which have specific MX record requirements.

Why It Matters

  • 1Without MX records, you cannot receive email on your domain
  • 2Determines which email provider handles your mail
  • 3Incorrect MX records mean bounced replies and lost conversations
  • 4Part of the overall DNS configuration that affects sender reputation

Related Tools

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Related Guides

dns setup basicsgoogle vs microsoft

Related Terms

DNS Records for Email
Configuration entries in your domain's DNS that control email routing and authentication.
Email Deliverability
The ability of your emails to successfully reach recipients' inboxes rather than being blocked or sent to spam.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of sent emails that fail to deliver and are returned by the receiving server.
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