Email Guardian is a managed email deliverability service from Talked About Marketing that ensures website contact form submissions reach your inbox reliably. For $60 + GST per year, we configure shared transactional email infrastructure, replacing the need for a dedicated service costing around $100 per year. Plus we install Cloudflare Turnstile spam protection on your website form.
Are contact form submissions from your website actually reaching you?
Many are not. And the business owner is almost always the last to know.
A prospective client fills out your contact form, waits for a response, hears nothing, and moves on. You never knew they were there. No missed call notification. No bounce message. Just silence on both sides, and a lost opportunity.
This is not a rare edge case. Since early 2024, significant changes to how Google and Yahoo handle incoming email have left a large number of small business websites quietly failing to deliver their own enquiries. The form submits. The visitor sees a thank you message. The email goes nowhere.
What changed with email delivery in 2024?
Google and Yahoo tightened their standards for which emails they will accept into inboxes.
Since early 2024, emails must carry three layers of authentication, known as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, to be treated as trustworthy. Previously, one or two methods was sufficient. Without all three in place, emails sent to Gmail or Yahoo addresses, which together account for a significant share of all email accounts worldwide, are blocked or silently discarded before they reach anyone.
Many website contact forms were set up years ago using a basic configuration that no longer meets this standard. The form still works from the visitor’s perspective. The email simply never arrives.
Apple has indicated it will adopt similar requirements. Other providers are expected to follow.
What is Email Guardian and how does it fix this?
Email Guardian is a managed service that builds a properly authenticated gateway between your website contact forms and your inbox.
We configure a shared transactional email system, the same infrastructure that underpins dedicated services costing around $100 per year, and make it available to you for $60 + GST per year. Your forms send through a verified, authenticated channel that meets current delivery standards. Enquiries arrive.
During setup, we also install Cloudflare’s Turnstile anti-spam tool on your contact forms. Turnstile operates invisibly in the background, blocking automated spam submissions without presenting your visitors with those frustrating image puzzles. Your forms stay clean without friction for genuine enquirers.
When these seven elements are working together, your message stops being something people scroll past. It becomes something they recognise themselves in.
What does Email Guardian include?
Email Guardian covers everything needed to make your contact forms reliable:
Configuration of shared transactional email infrastructure with full SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication, meeting current Google, Yahoo, and Apple requirements. Installation of Cloudflare Turnstile spam protection on your website contact forms. Ongoing access to the shared system for $60 + GST per year, with no need to set up or manage a separate dedicated service account.
Setup is handled by us. Once it is in place, it runs quietly in the background.
How much does Email Guardian cost?
Email Guardian is $120 + gst to set up and then just $60 + GST per year.
A dedicated transactional email service delivering the same result typically costs around $100 per year to set up and manage independently (and possibly more as most services are charged on email volume). Email Guardian gives you access to our shared, already-configured infrastructure at a lower annual cost, with the setup handled for you.
Who should consider Email Guardian?
Email Guardian is relevant for any small business whose website has a contact form.
If you are an existing client and we have flagged a deliverability issue during a website review, Email Guardian is the recommended solution. If you are a business owner who has noticed a drop in enquiries, or who simply wants to verify that your forms are working as they should, Email Guardian addresses the problem at its source.
If you are unsure whether your current setup meets today’s authentication requirements, start with a conversation. We can check and advise before any commitment is made.
Where do you start?
Send us your questions and a link to your WordPress website and we’ll check if Email Guardian might be a right fit for you.