[GTM glossary](/glossary.txt) Core Web Vitals Marketing # Core Web Vitals In short Core Web Vitals are a set of user-centered metrics defined by Google that measure how a page loads, responds, and stays stable. They currently cover Largest Contentful Paint (loading), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness), and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). They are part of Google's page experience signals. Treat them as one input among many; relevant content still matters most for ranking. ## The three metrics ### Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) Time until the main content, such as a hero image or headline, is visible. Google treats 2.5 seconds or less as good. ### Interaction to Next Paint (INP) How quickly the page responds after a click, tap, or key press. Google treats 200 milliseconds or less as good. ### Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) How much content jumps around while loading. Google treats a score of 0.1 or less as good. --- ## Why GTM teams should care Slow, jumpy pages lose visitors before they see your offer. That hurts paid traffic efficiency, form conversion, and organic visibility. Marketing teams often add scripts, chat widgets, and tracking tags that slow pages. Core Web Vitals give a shared way to discuss that trade-off with developers. --- ## How to check and improve them * **Measure with field data:** Use Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights, which show data from real users. * **Compress and size images:** Large hero images are a frequent cause of slow LCP. * **Audit third-party scripts:** Remove unused tags and delay non-essential widgets. * **Reserve space:** Set image and embed dimensions so layouts do not shift. * **Prioritize key pages:** Fix landing pages and high-traffic pages first. --- ## Common mistakes * **Chasing a perfect score:** Aim for the "good" range on pages that matter instead of a 100 everywhere. * **Relying on lab tests only:** Lab scores can differ from what real visitors experience. * **Letting tags pile up:** Every added script has a cost, so review them regularly. --- ## Core Web Vitals FAQs **What are Core Web Vitals?** Core Web Vitals are Google's metrics for real-world page experience. They measure loading speed with Largest Contentful Paint, responsiveness with Interaction to Next Paint, and visual stability with Cumulative Layout Shift. **Do Core Web Vitals affect SEO?** Core Web Vitals are part of Google's page experience signals, so they can influence rankings, but relevance and content quality matter more. Good scores also help conversions by keeping visitors from leaving slow or unstable pages. **What is a good Core Web Vitals score?** Google considers a good Largest Contentful Paint to be 2.5 seconds or less, Interaction to Next Paint 200 milliseconds or less, and Cumulative Layout Shift 0.1 or less, measured at the 75th percentile of real visits. **How do you check Core Web Vitals?** Use Google Search Console for site-wide reports and PageSpeed Insights for individual pages. Both show field data from real users, which is more reliable than a one-off lab test for judging actual experience. Share term --- ## More related phrases * [Page views](/glossary/page-views.txt) * [Alternative pages](/glossary/alternative-pages.txt) * [Keyword](/glossary/keyword.txt) ## Similar phrases * [Conversion rate optimization (CRO)](/glossary/conversion-rate-optimization.txt) Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the practice of improving the share of visitors who take a desired action, using research and controlled tests. * [SEO (SEO)](/glossary/seo.txt) SEO (search engine optimization) is the practice of improving a website so it earns more unpaid traffic from search engines such as Google. * [Landing pages](/glossary/landing-pages.txt) A landing page is a standalone web page built for one campaign goal, such as booking a demo or downloading an asset, with a single call to action. * [Bounce rate](/glossary/bounce-rate.txt) Bounce rate is the percentage of sent emails that are rejected by the recipient's mail server and never reach an inbox, split into hard and soft bounces. * [Above the fold](/glossary/above-the-fold.txt) Above the fold is the part of a web page visible without scrolling, and it decides whether a visitor stays, reads on, or leaves within seconds.