BIMI: Display Your Logo in Email Inboxes

Here’s a question worth considering: when your customers see an email from your domain, how do they know it’s actually from you? Subject lines can be spoofed. Sender names can be faked. But a verified logo sitting right next to your email in their inbox? That’s harder to counterfeit.

BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is the protocol that makes this possible. When properly implemented, your brand logo appears alongside your emails in Gmail, Yahoo, Apple Mail, and other supporting clients. It’s both a visibility play and a trust signal built on top of email authentication.

What BIMI Actually Does

BIMI connects your verified brand logo to your authenticated emails. When a recipient’s email client supports BIMI and your message passes authentication checks, your logo displays in place of the generic avatar or initial that would otherwise appear.

This isn’t just cosmetic. The logo serves as a visual indicator that the email genuinely came from your organization and passed authentication. For recipients scanning a crowded inbox, that recognition happens before they even read your subject line.

The data on engagement is notable. Studies from Red Sift and Entrust found that BIMI implementation correlated with open rate increases up to 39% and brand recall improvements over 100%. Whether those numbers hold for your specific audience depends on many factors, but the directional signal is clear: visual brand presence in the inbox matters.

The Prerequisites You Can’t Skip

BIMI isn’t something you can implement in an afternoon. It has real prerequisites, and there’s no way around them.

DMARC at enforcement level

Your domain must have DMARC configured with either p=quarantine or p=reject. Monitoring mode (p=none) doesn’t qualify. This is non-negotiable because BIMI is built on top of email authentication. If you can’t prove your emails are legitimate, you don’t get to display your logo.

If you’re not at enforcement yet, that’s your first priority. BIMI comes after.

A compliant SVG logo

BIMI requires your logo in SVG Tiny PS format. This is a specific, restricted version of SVG designed for secure display. Your standard website SVG probably won’t work without conversion.

The logo must be:

• Square (1:1 aspect ratio)
• SVG Tiny PS compliant (no scripts, no external references, no animations)
• Hosted at an HTTPS URL
• Reasonably sized (under 32KB recommended)

You can validate your logo against these requirements with our BIMI SVG checker.

A Verified Mark Certificate (for Gmail and Apple Mail)

Here’s where it gets expensive. Gmail and Apple Mail require a VMC (Verified Mark Certificate) to display your logo. A VMC proves you own the trademark for the logo you’re displaying.

VMCs cost approximately $1,000-1,500 per year and require:

• A registered trademark for your logo
• Verification of your organization
• A video call with the certificate authority

Yahoo Mail supports BIMI without a VMC, which makes it a useful testing ground. But for the major inbox providers, the certificate is required.

How BIMI Implementation Works

Once you have the prerequisites in place, the technical implementation is straightforward:

Step 1: Prepare your logo

Convert your logo to SVG Tiny PS format. Test it against BIMI validation tools to ensure compliance. Host it at a stable HTTPS URL that won’t change.

Step 2: Obtain your VMC (if targeting Gmail/Apple)

Work with a certificate authority like DigiCert or Entrust. Expect the process to take several days to a few weeks depending on how quickly you can provide documentation.

Step 3: Create your BIMI DNS record

Add a TXT record at default._bimi.yourdomain.com with your logo URL and VMC URL. Use our BIMI record generator to create the correct syntax:

v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/logo.svg; a=https://example.com/vmc.pem

Step 4: Test and verify

Send test emails to accounts at Gmail, Yahoo, and Apple Mail. Use our BIMI checker to verify your DNS record is correctly configured and your logo is accessible. Check that authentication is passing consistently.

The Honest Assessment

BIMI is valuable, but it’s not for everyone right now.

BIMI makes sense if:

• You’ve already achieved DMARC enforcement
• You have a registered trademark for your logo
• You send significant email volume where brand recognition matters
• You’re willing to invest $1,000+ annually in the VMC

BIMI probably isn’t your priority if:

• You’re still working toward DMARC enforcement
• Your logo isn’t trademarked
• You’re a small organization with limited email marketing
• You’re budget-constrained on security spending

The honest reality is that BIMI is a layer on top of solid email authentication. If your DMARC, SPF, and DKIM aren’t properly configured, BIMI won’t help you. Get the fundamentals right first.

Current Adoption and What It Means

BIMI adoption is growing but still limited. Analysis of top domains shows significant year-over-year increases in BIMI records, but implementation errors have also increased. Many organizations are interested but struggling with execution.

This creates an opportunity for organizations that implement correctly. With relatively few domains displaying verified logos, those that do stand out more clearly. Early adoption, done well, provides differentiation.

The risk of waiting is that as BIMI becomes more common, it shifts from competitive advantage to baseline expectation. Organizations without verified logos may eventually appear less trustworthy by comparison.

Moving Forward

If BIMI is on your roadmap, here’s the practical sequence:

1. Confirm DMARC enforcement - Check your current policy with our DMARC checker. If you’re at p=none, focus on reaching enforcement first.

2. Verify trademark status - Confirm your logo is registered with a recognized trademark office (USPTO, EUIPO, etc.). If not, start that process.

3. Prepare your SVG - Convert your logo to compliant format and validate it with our BIMI SVG checker.

4. Budget for the VMC - Plan for the annual certificate cost and the time required for verification.

5. Generate your record - Use our BIMI generator to create the correct DNS record syntax.

6. Implement and monitor - Deploy your BIMI record and verify it’s working with our BIMI checker.

BIMI represents the convergence of email security and brand visibility. The technical bar is real, but for organizations that clear it, the result is a verified visual presence in your recipients’ inboxes. That’s worth something in an environment where trust is increasingly difficult to establish.