How does MailVakt receive Amazon SES events?

Through a CloudFormation template that you run in your own AWS account. It publishes SES events for your configuration set to SNS, and the SNS topic delivers them to MailVakt.

Why do I need to send a test message?

Sending a message through the configuration set and confirming coverage shows that events are actually reaching MailVakt, so you know the numbers are complete.

Can I monitor several regions?

SES sending is per region, so connect each region you send from as its own connection.

Can I resume setup later?

Yes. You can resume from the connection card, and there are disconnect and cleanup instructions if you remove the connection.

Does it show complaint and bounce rates?

Yes. You see hard bounces and complaints per campaign, and you can set workspace thresholds with a minimum number of sends that raise an incident.

← Campaign analytics

Amazon SES monitoring

Amazon SES bounce and complaint monitoring

Connect an SES account and region with a CloudFormation template you run in your own AWS console. Events flow from SES through SNS to MailVakt, where you see bounce and complaint rates per campaign and get incidents when they climb.

Start free How it works

Free · Collection starts when you connect · Delivered means accepted by the recipient server

Sends, delivered and bounces

See how many messages you sent, how many the recipient server accepted, and how many hard-bounced, per campaign and per day.

Complaints and incidents

Track spam complaints, and get an incident when delivery, bounce or complaint rates cross thresholds you set for the workspace.

Opens and clicks

Unique opens and clicks per delivered message, plus totals, wherever your provider reports them.

Recipient timeline

Look up one recipient and see what happened to the messages sent to them: sent, delivered, bounced, opened or clicked.

What a workspace looks like

Example, sample data

Sends

12,480

Delivered

98.6%

Hard bounces

0.9%

Complaints

0.04%

Unique opens

41.2%

Unique clicks

3.8%

Campaign	Sends	Delivered	Hard bounces	Status
October newsletter	8,200	99.1%	0.5%	Healthy
Product launch	3,100	97.2%	1.6%	Healthy
Win-back series	1,180	94.0%	4.8%	Bounce incident

Illustrative numbers only. Your workspace shows your own campaigns.

How it works

Wire SES to MailVakt with CloudFormation

1
Name the account, region and configuration set
In Add connection, choose Amazon SES and enter your AWS account, the SES region, and the configuration set your messages use.
2
Download the CloudFormation template
MailVakt generates a template specific to this connection. Upload it in the AWS console, in the same region you registered.
3
Wait for the subscription to activate
The template connects SES event publishing to SNS and subscribes MailVakt. Return to the connection card, which shows when the subscription is active.
4
Send a test message
Send a real message through the configuration set, then confirm sending coverage in MailVakt. This proves events are arriving before you rely on the numbers.

What the numbers mean

Only messages sent with the connected configuration set are reported. Anything sent without it is invisible to MailVakt.
Delivered means the recipient’s mail server accepted the message. It does not mean the message reached the inbox rather than the spam folder.
Collection starts when you connect a provider. MailVakt does not backfill earlier sends.
Opens and clicks depend on your provider’s tracking. Apple Mail privacy features and link scanners can inflate or hide them, so treat them as a trend, not a headcount.
A message sent to several recipients can make some events ambiguous. MailVakt marks those rather than guessing which recipient an event belongs to.
Detailed events are kept for 30 days. Daily totals are kept for 12 months.

Frequently asked questions

How does MailVakt receive Amazon SES events?: Through a CloudFormation template that you run in your own AWS account. It publishes SES events for your configuration set to SNS, and the SNS topic delivers them to MailVakt.
Why do I need to send a test message?: Sending a message through the configuration set and confirming coverage shows that events are actually reaching MailVakt, so you know the numbers are complete.
Can I monitor several regions?: SES sending is per region, so connect each region you send from as its own connection.
Can I resume setup later?: Yes. You can resume from the connection card, and there are disconnect and cleanup instructions if you remove the connection.
Does it show complaint and bounce rates?: Yes. You see hard bounces and complaints per campaign, and you can set workspace thresholds with a minimum number of sends that raise an incident.

Fix this from ChatGPT or Claude

MailVakt is an MCP server, so your assistant can run this check itself, read the findings and walk you through the DNS edit. Ask it:

“Use MailVakt to check the domain I send from with Amazon SES and explain any SPF, DKIM or DMARC problems.”

Claude: Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector, then paste https://mcp.mailvakt.com/mcp.
Cursor and other MCP clients: add the same address as an MCP server. Setup details.

Checks are free and need no account. Sign in only to collect DMARC reports for a domain.