What Are Core Web Vitals?
Core Web Vitals (CWV) are a set of performance metrics defined by Google to measure how users actually experience a website. They focus on three aspects of usability: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
The three metrics are:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading speed. For a strong user experience, LCP should occur within 2.5 seconds of when the page begins to load.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Captures responsiveness to user input. A good INP score is below 200 milliseconds.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Evaluates visual stability by measuring unexpected layout shifts. The goal is a score below 0.1.
These standards offer developers, marketers, and eCommerce leaders a common language for improving site experience.
Why Do Core Web Vitals Matter?
Google includes Core Web Vitals in its Page Experience signals, meaning they influence search rankings alongside factors like HTTPS security and mobile friendliness, according to Google Search Central.
For eCommerce businesses, their impact goes beyond SEO. Poor CWV scores often correlate with higher bounce rates and abandoned carts. On the other hand, high scores create faster, more stable browsing, which builds shopper trust and boosts engagement.
How Do I Measure Core Web Vitals?
Google offers multiple free tools to measure CWV:
- Search Console: Monitors Core Web Vitals for your entire domain.
- PageSpeed Insights: Provides both lab and field data with specific improvement recommendations.
- Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX): Aggregates anonymized real-world user data.
- Lighthouse and Chrome DevTools: Useful for debugging performance issues during development.
It’s important to track both lab data (synthetic tests) and real user monitoring (RUM). Lab tests reveal technical issues, while RUM captures how real shoppers experience your site across devices, browsers, and networks.
How Can I Improve Core Web Vitals?
Fixes depend on which metric is underperforming:
- Improving LCP: Compress and preload images, reduce server response times, and prioritize above-the-fold content.
- Improving INP: Optimize JavaScript execution, minimize third-party scripts, and break up long tasks.
- Improving CLS: Define size attributes for images and ads, avoid inserting dynamic content above existing elements, and use reserved space for components like banners.
For eCommerce brands, the challenge is balancing feature-rich experiences — such as personalization engines, reviews, and AR tools — with performance optimization.
Do Core Web Vitals Really Affect Sales?
Yes. Studies show faster sites convert better. Yottaa’s own data found 63% of shoppers abandon pages that take longer than 4 seconds or more to load. Additionally, Yottaa noted that reducing page load time by just 1 second increases mobile conversions by 3%.
Similarly, Semrush notes that poor CWV scores not only hurt search visibility but also reduce user satisfaction and engagement, leading directly to lost revenue.
How Do Core Web Vitals Affect SEO?
Core Web Vitals are part of Google’s Page Experience ranking signals. While Google stresses they are not the most important factor, failing them can limit how well your site performs in search. Passing CWV can also improve ad quality scores, reduce acquisition costs, and help drive more qualified traffic.
The proliferation of AI search has spurred generative engine optimization (GEO). While brands are still testing and learning regarding what works best for AI discovery, web performance is almost certainly a factor. Sites need to be responsive to and readable by AI bots and agents — if they don’t find what they’re looking for immediately, they’ll leave the site entirely.
What Tools or Services Can Help Improve Core Web Vitals?
While Google’s ecosystem offers strong monitoring, many eCommerce teams need more proactive solutions. Yottaa provides:
- Core Web Vitals tracking across all major browsers, including Safari (which tools often exclude).
- Diagnostics and real-time alerts to catch performance issues before they impact scores.
- Automated optimization of third-party apps, sequencing, and content delivery via a fully managed platform.
This approach ensures Core Web Vitals improvements translate into both better rankings and better conversion outcomes.
Where Can I Learn More?
For further reading: