Do Core Web Vitals Affect SEO Rankings? (How to Improve Them)

A common question in SEO is whether Core Web Vitals impact rankings. Many think higher scores automatically mean higher rankings.

In this guide, we will give clear answers on how Core Web Vitals impact SEO. You’ll also learn when they matter most and what you can do to improve them.

What Are Core Web Vitals and How Does Google Use Them?

Core Web Vitals are performance metrics that measure how smooth, fast, and user-friendly a webpage feels to visitors. Google includes these metrics as part of its Page Experience ranking factor, which influences how pages rank in search results.

Here’s a quick overview of the main Core Web Vitals and what they measure:

Metric	What It Measures	Good Score
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)	How quickly the main content of a page loads.	Under 2.5 seconds
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)	How responsive a page feels when users click, tap, or type.	Under 200 milliseconds
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)	How visually stable a page is as it loads (how much content shifts).	Less than 0.1

Note: INP replaced the older First Input Delay (FID) metric in 2024. It provides a more accurate picture of how responsive your site feels during real interactions.

Do Core Web Vitals Affect SEO?

Yes, Core Web Vitals do affect SEO, and they play a crucial role in how Google evaluates overall page experience. That said, they aren’t the most dominant ranking factors. The value and relevance of your content still have the biggest influence on where your pages rank.

Google’s John Mueller emphasised this (opens in a new tab), stating:

In simple terms, Google cares more about how useful and relevant your content is. Even if your site loads faster, it won’t beat pages that give better answers to what people are searching for.

Google also reinforced this in a page experience FAQ (opens in a new tab). It states:

To put it plainly, Google is reminding site owners that good Core Web Vitals scores don’t guarantee top rankings. These scores are meant to guide you in improving your website for real users, not as a trick to hack the SEO algorithm.

If you Google a keyword and look at the top results, you’ll notice that many of those pages don’t have perfect Core Web Vitals scores. They still rank high because their content is more relevant, helpful, and trustworthy, which is what Google values most.

When Do Core Web Vitals Matter for SEO?

We have already established that Core Web Vitals do affect SEO. Their impact, however, is more noticeable in certain situations.

Here’s when CWV really matter:

• When pages are similar: If two pages have comparable content quality, authority, and relevance, the one with better Core Web Vitals may rank slightly higher.
• When improving from poor to good: Fixing major performance issues has a noticeable impact. But once a page reaches “good,” further improvements bring little extra ranking benefit.
• When competition is tight: In highly competitive niches, even small CWV improvements can make a difference, especially on mobile.

In short, a good Core Web Vitals score alone won’t make weak content rank higher, but they can help a well-optimised page gain an edge when it matters most.

Why You Should Still Improve Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals may not be the strongest ranking factor, but they play an important role in how people experience your website.

When a site loads slowly or reacts poorly, users often get frustrated and move on. Many leave before they even read, click, or engage. As a result, poor CWV can quietly hurt your conversions, whether that’s signups, product sales, or subscriptions.

Improving Core Web Vitals makes your site faster and smoother for everyone. It creates a better experience, especially for users on slower devices or networks. Also, it keeps users coming back, since fast and user-friendly sites leave a lasting positive impression.

In the end, improving Core Web Vitals sets off a positive chain reaction. Better performance leads to happier visitors, stronger engagement, and better overall results.

How to Improve Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals is one of the most important website performance metrics to monitor and optimise. Improving CWV involves focusing on the three key metrics: INP, CLS, and LCP. Let’s break down each one and explore practical tips to optimise them.

1. INP (Interaction to Next Paint)

INP measures how quickly a page responds to user interactions, such as clicking or typing, across the entire page lifecycle. The target score is less than 200 milliseconds. 

To improve your INP:

• Break up long tasks: If any JavaScript task runs longer than ~50 ms, it blocks responsiveness. Angle your code so it yields control back to the main thread often.
• Avoid unnecessary JavaScript: Eliminate unused code or redundant libraries. Use code splitting so only essential scripts load early.
• Prevent large rendering updates: Complex layouts, forced reflows, or frequent DOM changes can slow interaction. Keep DOM sizes modest and avoid layout thrashing.
• Delay non-essential work: Defer or lazy-load noncritical scripts or UI behaviours so the browser can process user interactions first.
• Use browser APIs thoughtfully: APIs like the Scheduler API or requestIdleCallback help break tasks into smaller chunks so the UI stays responsive.
• Remove or defer third-party scripts: Analytics, ads, or tag managers often run heavy code that impacts interactivity.

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2. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

CLS measures the visual stability of your website. The target score is less than 0.1. A low CLS score ensures content doesn’t jump around as the page loads. 

Here’s how to optimise CLS:

• Set explicit sizes for media: Always define width, height, or an aspect-ratio for images, videos, and embeds. This ensures space is reserved before the content loads.
• Reserve space for dynamic content: Give ads, pop-ups, and embeds a fixed or minimum height. Even a small min-height helps prevent sudden shifts.
• Ensure pages are eligible for bfcache: The back/forward cache (bfcache) loads pages instantly from memory and prevents layout shifts. Check eligibility in Chrome DevTools.
• Avoid layout-inducing animations: Don’t animate top, left, width, or margin. Use transform and opacity instead to keep animations smooth without triggering reflows.
• Load fonts safely: Prevent text jumps by using font-display: swap and preloading key fonts. Match fallback font sizes and spacing to your web fonts.
• Stabilise late-loading UI elements: Show placeholders for banners, forms, or widgets that appear after load. Load them below the fold or in reserved containers to keep the layout steady.

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3. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

LCP measures how fast the main content of your page becomes visible. The target score is within 2.5 seconds. 

To improve your LCP:

• Make the LCP element discoverable: Ensure your main image or text block is in the initial HTML. Avoid lazy-loading or JavaScript-injected elements that delay rendering.
• Prioritise key resources: Use <link rel=”preload”> or fetchpriority=”high” for your hero image. Defer non-essential scripts and styles.
• Reduce server response time: Lower TTFB by serving content through a CDN and caching static HTML. Deliver content closer to users for faster response.
• Optimise images and fonts: Compress and resize images, use WebP or AVIF, and preload important fonts with font-display: swap.
• Use server-side rendering (SSR): Render key content on the server so it appears instantly instead of waiting for JavaScript to load.
• Aim for instant navigation: Enable bfcache and use the Speculation Rules API to prerender likely next pages for near-zero load times.

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Monitor and Improve Core Web Vitals Continuously

Improving Core Web Vitals isn’t just about SEO. It’s about building a website that stays fast, stable, and user-friendly, giving visitors a smooth experience every time they visit.

Running checks with tools like PageSpeed Insights helps, but testing each page manually takes time. This is where WebYes makes a difference.

With WebYes, you can monitor Core Web Vitals for all your pages in one place. It helps you spot issues early and fix them before they affect performance or rankings.