What do email marketers actually mean when they refer to email verification? One marketer’s validation is another one’s verification. The two terms are often used interchangeably, which isn’t correct, as they both have different meanings.
However, that’s not all bad news. Developers and QAs also mean different things under validation and verification methods.
First, let’s clarify this terminology confusion and then see how you could do both: validate and verify emails without actually sending an email.
What is email verification?
Email verification is a process that helps verify if there is an actual user on the receiving end of the email address. It consists of sending an activation link/code to an email address, which the end user should activate from their inbox.
The role of email verification is to:
- Increase your outreach
- Protect your sender’s reputation
- Prevent hard bounces and high bounce rates
- Prevent your email domain from being blacklisted
- Increase security and prevent users from malicious data input
- Keep your email-sending list up-to-date and free of bad emails
- Cut costs on email marketing (not to waste money on useless inactive or falsified email addresses and contact lists)
Note that email verification is often interchangeable with “email address verification.” This is another term that refers to ensuring that an email address is valid, properly formatted, and capable of receiving emails. Honestly, I don’t recommend using these two interchangeably for your clarity’s sake, or your own sanity, whichever you prefer.
Email verification vs email validation
As there are countless different explanations for email verification vs validation, I think it’s time we get to the bottom of this once and for all.
Put simply, verification is a more complex procedure than email validation as it involves both the frontend and the backend.
Whereas, validation is only typically done at the frontend as it checks email format, detects and prevents typos (i.e. gamil.com instead of gmail.com)and invalid email addresses being entered into any of your forms.
For easier understanding, let’s imagine the two processes as mailmen. 📫
Email validation would be a mailman who, before he sets out, checks the address format on each letter, confirming street names and house numbers are correct. He also makes sure that certain addresses (like those for a university’s “edu” domain) accept specific deliveries.
Now, think of email verification as a mailman who not only checks the address format but also goes to each house to see if someone is there to receive the letter (what a mailman, right?).
Why must you verify emails?
One of the main reasons you must verify emails is because it’s likely that your emails may end up nowhere without verification. Moreover, verification boosts inbox placement and prevents issues such as email bounces.
The thing is that many hard bounces impair your sender’s reputation. The poor reputation, in turn, drops your deliverability, which, ultimately, decreases your opens, clicks, and conversions. If you regularly send emails to undeliverable addresses, your email campaigns will end up in the spam folder.
Email marketing campaign performance depends on the accuracy of your email list, and, of course, your suppression lists.
On top of that, Google and Yahoo have released new deliverability updates for 2024, which consist of new rules for bulk email senders.
The updates aim to increase email security, reduce spam, and improve overall user experience and email deliverability.
See the table for more information:
