What are Core Web Vitals (LCP, INP, CLS)?
Core Web Vitals are three scores Google uses to measure how a page feels to real visitors: how fast the main content loads (LCP), how quickly it reacts when you tap (INP), and whether things jump around while loading (CLS).
ShoaibUpdated 3 min read
The three metrics and their targets
These are the current thresholds from web.dev:
| Metric | Measures | Good | Needs improvement | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) | Loading: when the biggest image, text block or video on screen appears | 2.5 s or less | 2.5–4.0 s | Over 4.0 s |
| INP (Interaction to Next Paint) | Responsiveness to clicks, taps and key presses | 200 ms or less | 200–500 ms | Over 500 ms |
| CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) | Visual stability: unexpected jumps in layout | 0.1 or less | 0.1–0.25 | Over 0.25 |
web.dev says to judge each one at the 75th percentile of page loads, for mobile and desktop separately. In plain terms: at least three out of four real visits should hit "good".
What usually causes bad scores?
web.dev's CLS guide names common causes of layout jumps, such as images and videos without set dimensions, ads and widgets that resize themselves, and fonts that load at a different size. Heavy images and too much code are the usual suspects for slow loading and laggy taps.
Where can I see my scores?
In the Core Web Vitals report inside Google Search Console, which shows how your pages perform for real users. New to it? See what is Google Search Console.
Do they matter for ads too?
Yes. The same slow, jumpy page that hurts SEO also loses people you paid to bring in; it's one of the checks in why ads get clicks but no sales. For how this fits the bigger picture, see what is SEO.
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