Glossary › Core Web Vitals
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are Google's three page-experience metrics — Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — that measure how fast, responsive, and visually stable a page is. Google uses them as ranking signals.
Plain-English Definition
Think of Core Web Vitals as a report card for how a page feels to use. LCP measures how long it takes for the main content (usually the hero image or headline) to load. INP measures how quickly the page responds when a user clicks or taps. CLS measures whether elements on the page shift around unexpectedly as it loads — nothing is more frustrating than tapping a button that jumps just before you click it.
Google scores each metric as Good, Needs Improvement, or Poor. Pages that score Good across all three get a small but real ranking boost over otherwise equal competitors.
Why It Matters
Slow, jumpy pages lose visitors. Studies consistently show that even a one-second delay in load time reduces conversions. Core Web Vitals matter for two reasons: they directly affect whether visitors stay on your page and contact you, and they affect your search ranking. A fast, stable site beats a slow one — all else being equal — in both the algorithm and in user behavior.
Most service business websites built on heavy page builders or loaded with unoptimized images score poorly on LCP. Fixing that one metric alone can improve rankings and reduce bounce rates.
How to Check Yours
Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool (pagespeed.web.dev) shows your Core Web Vitals scores for both mobile and desktop. Enter any URL and it returns scores, identifies specific problems, and explains what to fix — from image sizes to render-blocking scripts. Google Search Console also reports Core Web Vitals across your entire site.
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