Core Web Vitals are a set of measurements Google uses to judge how a page actually feels to use — not just how fast it technically loads, but how stable and responsive it is while someone is trying to use it.
The three metrics that matter
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — how long it takes for the main content of a page to become visible. Slow LCP usually means unoptimised images or a slow server response.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — how quickly a page responds when someone clicks, taps or types. Poor INP is often caused by heavy JavaScript blocking the browser.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — how much content jumps around as a page loads. This is usually caused by images or ads loading without reserved space.
Why this affects your ranking, not just your users
Google has used page experience, including Core Web Vitals, as a ranking factor for years. Two pages with similar content can rank differently partly because one loads and responds noticeably faster than the other.
What actually moves the needle
In practice, the biggest wins usually come from a small number of fixes: compressing and correctly sizing images, reserving space for elements before they load, deferring non-critical scripts, and cutting anything running on the page that is not actually needed. This is the core of the SEO & performance optimisation work we do for clients.
Checking your own scores
You do not need to guess — Google's own PageSpeed Insights and Search Console report both metrics per page. If your scores are poor and you are not sure why, send us the URL and we will tell you what is actually causing it before recommending any work.
