What is Core Web Vitals?
Google's three measurements of page experience — loading speed (LCP), interactivity (INP), and visual stability (CLS). A real ranking signal since 2024.
Also known as: CWV, Core Web Vitals score
Core Web Vitals are a set of three metrics Google uses to measure how a real user experiences your page. The three are LCP (Largest Contentful Paint — how fast the main content loads), INP (Interaction to Next Paint — how fast the page responds to user input), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift — how much the page jumps around as it loads).
Unlike older performance metrics measured in a lab, Core Web Vitals are measured on real Chrome users via the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX). That's why a site can score 100/100 in PageSpeed Insights' lab data but still fail Core Web Vitals — Google looks at what your actual visitors experience over a 28-day window.
A passing score requires LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds, and CLS under 0.1, at the 75th percentile of user visits. Sites in the green range outrank red-range competitors in ranking-factor tests, all else equal.
Google now ranks sites with green Core Web Vitals scores above sites with the same content but worse performance. For a service business competing in a local pack, this is a meaningful tiebreaker.