Authentication: SPF, DKIM, DMARC, ARC, and reverse DNS
The deliverability test reads what the receiving server concluded, not what your DNS claims. A record can resolve perfectly and still fail alignment on the message you actually sent.
This is the layer with the highest deliverability impact per unit of effort. Fix authentication first and most other deliverability numbers improve on their own, which is why the deliverability test leads with it.


