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Add DNS records · Google Domains / Squarespace

Google Domains was acquired by Squarespace, and domains registered there have been migrated to Squarespace Domains — the DNS editor you may remember from Google now lives in your Squarespace account. This page walks you through publishing the DNS records Bird asks for on a sending domain: a DKIM TXT record, a return-path CNAME, an optional tracking CNAME, and a DMARC TXT record. Bird does not ask you to add an SPF record at your domain's apex — see DKIM, SPF & DMARC for why.
Before you start, open your domain's detail page in the Bird dashboard and keep it visible — every host and value below is copied from there, not typed by hand.

Find the DNS editor

  1. Sign in to your Squarespace account at domains.squarespace.com — this works even if you only ever used Google Domains and have never built a Squarespace site. If your domain has not been claimed since the migration, Squarespace will prompt you to claim it with your Google sign-in.
  2. Click Domains and select your domain from the list.
  3. Click DNS settings (in some views this appears as just DNS), then scroll to Custom records.

Add the records

For each record on your Bird domain detail page, click Add record under Custom records and fill in the fields. The Host field in Squarespace is relative to your domain — enter only the part before your domain name.

DKIM (TXT)

  1. Click Add record.
  2. Host: paste the DKIM host from Bird, but remove your domain from the end — for example.com you enter <selector>._domainkey, not <selector>._domainkey.example.com.
  3. Type: select TXT.
  4. Data: paste the DKIM value exactly as shown in Bird (v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=...). Do not add quotes around it — Squarespace stores the raw text and quotes it on the wire for you.
  5. Click Save (or press Enter to confirm the row).

Return-path (CNAME)

  1. Click Add record.
  2. Host: send (or whatever subdomain your Bird dashboard shows before your domain name).
  3. Type: select CNAME.
  4. Data: paste the value from Bird, for example <region>.bounce.bird.com.
  5. Save the record.

Tracking (CNAME, optional)

This record only enables branded open and click tracking — your domain can verify and send without it.
  1. Click Add record.
  2. Host: links (or the subdomain shown in Bird).
  3. Type: select CNAME.
  4. Data: paste the value from Bird, for example <region>.links.bird.com.
  5. Save the record.

DMARC (TXT)

  1. Click Add record.
  2. Host: _dmarc.
  3. Type: select TXT.
  4. Data: paste the DMARC value from Bird, for example v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:example.com@dmarc.bird.com; — again, no surrounding quotes.
  5. Save the record. If you already have a DMARC record at this domain or a parent domain, you can keep it — Bird only requires that a valid DMARC record exists.

Squarespace gotchas

  • The editor moved. If you go looking for DNS at domains.google.com, you will be redirected — DNS for migrated domains is managed only at Squarespace (account → Domains → your domain → DNS settings → Custom records).
  • Host names are relative. Squarespace appends your domain to whatever you type in the Host field. Entering the full hostname (send.example.com) creates a broken record at send.example.com.example.com — enter only send.
  • Paste TXT values without quotes. Some providers require quoted TXT values; Squarespace does not. Paste the DKIM and DMARC values exactly as Bird shows them, with no " added.
  • Third-party name servers override everything. If your domain's name servers point somewhere else (Cloudflare, for example), records added in Squarespace have no effect — add them at whichever provider the name servers point to instead.

After you publish

There is nothing to click in Bird — verification is automatic. Bird starts checking your DNS within seconds of the domain being added and re-checks frequently, so most domains flip to verified within minutes of the records going live. You can also trigger an immediate re-check from the domain's detail page in the dashboard. If the domain stays pending longer than you expect, see Verification delays.

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