Understanding Infrastructure Score
Why your infrastructure score and entity status might be different - explained in plain English
Common Confusion
"My infrastructure score is 25/100 but my domains and mailboxes show as 'healthy'. What's going on?"
This is actually completely normal! They're measuring two different things.
Two Different Health Systems
Think of it like a car inspection:
Infrastructure Score (0-100)
Like checking if your car has valid registration, insurance, and passes emissions tests.
- •What: DNS setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) + Blacklist status
- •When: One-time snapshot at sync time
- •Purpose: Foundation health check
Entity Status (Operational)
Like checking if your car actually starts and drives without breaking down.
- •What: Real-time bounce rates and sending performance
- •When: Continuously updated during sending
- •Purpose: Operational health check
Real-World Example
Your situation is like owning a car that:
Drives Perfectly (Entity Status: Healthy)
Your emails are being delivered successfully. Bounce rate is low (<2%). Everything works.
Missing Paperwork (Infrastructure Score: 25/100)
Your DNS authentication (DKIM/DMARC) is missing. Like driving without proper registration - it works, but you're at risk.
What Affects Each Score?
Infrastructure Score (0-100)
| Issue | Points Lost |
|---|---|
| Missing SPF record | -25 points |
| Missing DKIM record | -20 points |
| Missing DMARC record | -15 points |
| Confirmed blacklisted | -30 points each |
| Blacklist check unreachable | -10 points each |
Entity Status (Operational Health)
| Bounce Rate | Status |
|---|---|
| Less than 2% | HEALTHY |
| 2% - 3% | WARNING |
| 3% or higher (after 60 sends) | PAUSED |
Will Low Infrastructure Score Block My Campaigns?
The infrastructure score only affects:
- 1.Initial onboarding gate - First time connecting your sending platform
- 2.Manual re-assessment - If you trigger it again
Campaign resumption is controlled by entity status (bounce rates), not infrastructure score. Your campaigns will heal and resume automatically when bounce rates improve.
How to Improve Your Score
1. Add DKIM Record (+20 points)
Get your DKIM key from your email provider (Google Workspace, Outlook, etc.) and add it as a TXT record in your DNS.
Type: TXT
Value: [Get from your provider]
2. Add DMARC Record (+15 points)
DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail authentication.
Type: TXT
Value: v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com
3. Verify Blacklist Status (+40 points if clean)
If you got -40 for "unreachable" checks, manually verify you're not blacklisted:
- Visit mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
- Enter your domain
- If all checks show "Not Listed", trigger a manual re-assessment in Superkabe
Key Takeaways
Two Different Systems
Infrastructure score = DNS foundation. Entity status = Real-time performance.
Healthy Can Coexist with Low Score
You can send successfully even with weak DNS. But you're at higher risk.
Score Doesn't Block Campaigns
Only affects initial gate. Healing uses bounce rates, not infrastructure score.
Easy to Fix
Add DKIM/DMARC records and your score jumps to 100/100.