Core Web Vitals

A set of three page experience signals — loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability — that Google uses as a ranking factor.

Core Web Vitals (CWV) are a subset of Google’s Page Experience signals. They measure real-world user experience across three dimensions and directly influence rankings.

The Three Metrics

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — measures loading performance. Google recommends LCP occurs within 2.5 seconds of page load.
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — measures responsiveness to user interactions. Should be below 200 milliseconds. (Replaced First Input Delay in 2024.)
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — measures visual stability. A score below 0.1 is considered good.

Where to Check Your Scores

Google provides CWV data in several tools:

• Google Search Console (Core Web Vitals report)
• PageSpeed Insights
• Chrome UX Report (CrUX) — real-user field data
• Lighthouse — lab data for diagnostics

Why They Matter for SEO

Google incorporated CWV into its ranking algorithm in 2021 as part of the Page Experience update. Pages with poor CWV scores can be disadvantaged against competitors with similar content quality but better performance.