This article covers how to update contact owners in Keap™ to comply with email domain authentication requirements from Google, Yahoo, and other email providers, including how to audit users for authenticated domains, how to set a default contact owner, and how to bulk update contact owners. Keap enforces email to be sent only from authenticated domains — domains that show as Connected in the account. Automations using the Contact Owner as the email sender will fail to send if the contact owner's email domain is not authenticated and connected. This article does not cover how to authenticate an email domain. For help authenticating a domain, see how to authenticate your email domain in Keap.

Why Authenticated Domains Are Required for Email Sending in Keap

Google, Yahoo, and other major email providers now require that emails be sent from authenticated domains — domains verified through DKIM and SPF records. Keap enforces this requirement by only allowing email to be sent from domains that are authenticated and show as Connected in the account. For automations and campaigns that use the Contact Owner as the email sender, every user who serves as a contact owner must have an authenticated and connected email domain associated with their profile. Users without an authenticated domain will prevent emails from sending for contacts assigned to them. Completing the steps in this article ensures all contact owners have authenticated domains and that any contacts assigned to non-compliant users are reassigned.

The screenshot above shows the Keap settings navigation. For Keap Ultimate accounts, access settings by selecting the icon in the bottom left corner of the account. The layout and options in the reports and settings sections of Keap Ultimate are consistent with those in Keap Classic.

Step 1 — Audit Users for Authenticated Email Domains

Before updating contact owners, confirm which domains are authenticated and connected in the account, then verify that all users who send emails are using an authenticated email domain.

For Keap Classic: Select Marketing Settings in the navigation, then search for Email Authentication to view which domains are currently authenticated and connected.

The screenshot above shows the Keap Classic Marketing Settings screen with the Email Authentication section visible. The domains listed as Connected are the only domains that can be used as sender email addresses for automations and campaigns.

After confirming which domains are connected, select Admin Settings in the navigation, then select Users to view the email address associated with each user. Confirm that every user who sends emails to contacts is using an authenticated email domain. For users who are not using a connected domain, take one of the following actions:

• If the user will be sending email — Update the user's profile email address to use an authenticated and connected domain. Follow the steps below for the relevant Keap version.

• If the user will not be sending email — Record the username for use in the Update Contact Owners step below.

Update a User Profile Email in Keap Classic

1. Select the profile icon in the top navigation, then select Edit My Profile.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Classic top navigation with the profile icon selected. The Edit My Profile option appears in the dropdown menu. Selecting Edit My Profile opens the user profile settings where the email address can be updated.

2. In the Personal Info section, update the email address to use an authenticated and connected domain. Select Save to apply the change.

Update a User Profile Email in Keap Ultimate

1. Select the profile icon in the navigation, then select the profile name to open the user profile settings.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Ultimate navigation with the profile icon selected. Selecting the profile name opens the user profile settings.

2. In the Personal Info section, update the email address to use an authenticated and connected domain. Select Save to apply the change.

Step 2 — Set the Default Contact Owner

The default contact owner is the email sender used for any contact that does not have an assigned owner when the Contact Owner sender option is selected in an automation or campaign. Setting a default contact owner with an authenticated domain ensures emails send successfully for unassigned contacts.

1. Select Marketing in the navigation, then select Settings, then select Template Defaults.

2. On the Template Defaults page, locate the Default User setting. Select a user with an authenticated and connected domain to serve as the default email sender for contacts without an assigned owner.

3. Select Save to apply the default contact owner selection.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Template Defaults settings page with the Default User field visible. The user selected in this field will be used as the email sender for any contact that does not have an assigned contact owner when automations or campaigns use the Contact Owner sender option.

Step 3 — Bulk Update Contact Owners

Update contact owners in bulk to reassign contacts from users without authenticated domains to users with authenticated domains.

1. Select CRM in the navigation, then select Contacts.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap CRM navigation with the Contacts option visible. Selecting Contacts opens the Contacts list where filters can be applied to find contacts assigned to users without authenticated domains.

2. Select Edit Criteria/Columns to open the contact filter options.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Contacts list with the Edit Criteria/Columns button visible. Selecting Edit Criteria/Columns opens the contact filter panel.

3. Select the Misc Criteria tab in the filter panel.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap contact filter panel with the Misc Criteria tab selected. The Owner ID filter option is available in this tab.

4. Scroll down to the Owner ID section. Set the filter to Contains Any, then select Unassigned and each user who does not have an authenticated domain. To select multiple users, hold the Ctrl key while selecting each user name. Select OK to apply the filter.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Owner ID section in the Keap Misc Criteria filter panel. The Contains Any filter is selected and Unassigned along with the relevant users are selected in the user list. Selecting OK applies the filter and returns the contact list showing only contacts assigned to those owners.

5. From the filter results, select the contacts to update. Three selection options are available:

   • Select contacts individually using the checkbox next to each contact

   • Select all contacts across all pages of results

   • Select only the contacts displayed on the current page

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Contacts list with the contact selection options visible. Select the contacts whose contact owner needs to be updated before proceeding to the Actions dropdown.

6. Select the Actions dropdown and choose Mass Update Contacts. Use the search bar in the Actions dropdown to locate Mass Update Contacts quickly.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Contacts list with the Actions dropdown open. The Mass Update Contacts option appears in the dropdown. Selecting Mass Update Contacts opens the bulk update panel.

7. In the Mass Update Contacts panel, select the checkbox next to Owner ID and select the user to set as the new contact owner for all selected contacts.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Keap Mass Update Contacts panel with the Owner ID checkbox selected and a new contact owner chosen. The user selected here will be assigned as the contact owner for all contacts selected in the previous step.

8. Scroll down in the Mass Update Contacts panel and select the checkbox labeled Allow Empty Values to Clear Data. Then select Process Action to apply the contact owner update to all selected contacts.

   

   The screenshot above shows the bottom of the Keap Mass Update Contacts panel with the Allow Empty Values to Clear Data checkbox visible and the Process Action button. Selecting Process Action applies the new Owner ID to all selected contacts and reassigns them to the chosen contact owner.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this article cover?

This article covers how to update contact owners in Keap to comply with email domain authentication requirements, including how to audit users for authenticated domains, how to set a default contact owner, and how to bulk update contact owners. For help authenticating a domain, see how to authenticate your email domain in Keap.

Why do contact owners need authenticated email domains?

Keap enforces email sending only from domains that are authenticated and show as Connected in the account, in alignment with requirements from Google, Yahoo, and other email providers. Automations and campaigns that use the Contact Owner as the email sender will fail to send emails for contacts assigned to users whose email domains are not authenticated. Ensuring all contact owners have authenticated domains prevents automation emails from failing silently.

What happens to contacts without an assigned owner when Contact Owner is selected as the sender?

When a contact does not have an assigned owner and the Contact Owner sender option is used in an automation or campaign, Keap uses the Default User configured in Marketing Settings under Template Defaults as the email sender. Setting a Default User with an authenticated domain ensures emails send successfully for unassigned contacts.

Can contact owners be updated for multiple contacts at once?

Yes. Contact owners can be updated in bulk using the Mass Update Contacts action in the Contacts list. Filter the contact list by Owner ID to find contacts assigned to users without authenticated domains, select the contacts, and use Mass Update Contacts to reassign them to a user with an authenticated domain.