Google uses Core Web Vitals as ranking signals. If your website fails these metrics, you’re being penalised in search results — whether you realise it or not. Here’s what they are and how to fix them, in plain English.
What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals are three specific measurements that Google uses to evaluate how users experience your website:
LCP — Largest Contentful Paint
How long it takes for the main content of your page to load. Google wants this under 2.5 seconds. If your hero image or heading takes 4+ seconds to appear, that’s a failing score.
INP — Interaction to Next Paint
How quickly your site responds when someone clicks a button, fills in a form, or interacts with the page. This replaced FID (First Input Delay) in 2024. Google wants this under 200 milliseconds.
CLS — Cumulative Layout Shift
How much the page jumps around as it loads. If text shifts, images pop in and push content down, or buttons move just as someone tries to click them — that’s layout shift. Google wants this below 0.1.
Why Should Business Owners Care?
Google has confirmed these are ranking factors. Sites with good Core Web Vitals rank higher than equivalent sites with poor scores. But beyond rankings, these metrics directly affect your conversion rate. A one-second delay in page load can reduce conversions by 7%.
How to Check Your Scores
Go to PageSpeed Insights and enter your URL. You’ll get scores for all three metrics on both mobile and desktop, plus specific recommendations for improvement.
Common Fixes
- LCP: Compress and properly size images, use WebP format, preload critical assets, upgrade hosting.
- INP: Reduce JavaScript execution time, break up long tasks, minimise third-party scripts.
- CLS: Always set width and height on images and videos, avoid injecting content above existing content, use font-display: swap for web fonts.
What We Do Differently
Every website we build at Hire The Creatives is optimised for Core Web Vitals from day one. We don’t use bloated page builders, we compress every asset, and we test on real devices before launch. Our sites consistently score 90+ on PageSpeed Insights.
Want to see how your current site performs? Request a free speed audit.