Core Web Vitals are three standardized metrics—Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)—designed to measure real-world user experience on webpages in terms of loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
Overview
Introduced by Google, Core Web Vitals are part of the page experience signals that influence search rankings. They offer actionable insight into user experience by quantifying how quickly content loads (LCP < 2.5s), how responsive it is (INP < 200ms), and how stable the layout remains during loading (CLS < 0.1).
Tools like Google Search Console’s Core Web Vitals report, PageSpeed Insights, and Chrome’s Web Vitals library help monitor and optimize these metrics
Core Web Vitals affect both search performance—by contributing to algorithmic ranking—and user behavior, as faster, more stable pages lead to lower bounce rates, higher engagement, and better conversions
Examples in Marketing & Design Contexts
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Web Design: Prioritizing fast-loading, stable above-the-fold content and responsive interfaces ensures smoother user experience and better performance scores.
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SEO: Optimizing CWV improves page experience signals, helping pages surface in organic results and stay competitive in rankings.
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Digital Marketing: Enhanced site performance builds user confidence and reduces bounce rates, fueling campaign effectiveness.
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PPC: Better Core Web Vitals can lead to improved landing page experiences, increasing Quality Score and ad performance.
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LLMO (AI Discoverability): Faster, semantically structured pages give AI systems higher confidence to cite your content in generated answers.
Related Terms
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[Web Vitals] — the broader set of performance metrics of which Core Web Vitals are key
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[SEO] — performance metrics are critical ranking signals
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[Page Experience] — overall UX framework including CWV and other signals
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[Site Speed / Performance] — technical factors that directly impact CWV
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[Responsive Web Design] — delivering consistent performance across devices