Core Web Vitals

Monitor LCP, FID/INP, and CLS across your site to maintain page experience scores.

Last updated August 31, 2026

Core Web Vitals monitoring in AEO Goal tracks the three Google page experience metrics across your crawled pages so you can catch regressions before they affect rankings.

The three Core Web Vitals

Metric What it measures Good threshold Poor threshold
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) How fast the main content loads ≤ 2.5s > 4.0s
INP (Interaction to Next Paint) How fast the page responds to interaction ≤ 200ms > 500ms
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) How stable the page layout is ≤ 0.1 > 0.25

Note: INP replaced FID (First Input Delay) as a Core Web Vital in March 2024.

Viewing your scores

Go to Audit → Core Web Vitals to see:

  • A per-page breakdown of LCP, INP, and CLS scores
  • Overall pass/fail status for each metric (Good / Needs Improvement / Poor)
  • Trend over the past 30 days
  • Pages sorted by worst score (to prioritize fixes)

Data is sourced from Google Search Console CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report) field data when your GSC is connected, falling back to Lighthouse lab data for pages without sufficient real-user data.

Connecting Google Search Console

Real-user CrUX data is more accurate than lab data. Connect GSC to get field data for your top-trafficked pages. See Google Search Console.

Fixing Core Web Vitals issues

Common causes and fixes:

LCP too slow:

  • Optimize and compress hero images (use WebP)
  • Use a CDN for static assets
  • Eliminate render-blocking scripts
  • Preload the LCP image with <link rel="preload">

High CLS:

  • Set explicit width/height on images and iframes
  • Reserve space for ads and embeds
  • Avoid inserting content above existing content after page load

High INP:

  • Reduce long tasks in JavaScript
  • Defer non-critical JS
  • Use web workers for heavy computation

Create tickets for specific page improvements directly from the Core Web Vitals view.

Frequently asked questions

What are the three Core Web Vitals AEO Goal tracks?

AEO Goal tracks LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), which measures how fast the main content loads; INP (Interaction to Next Paint), which measures how fast the page responds to interaction; and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift), which measures how stable the page layout is.

Where does the Core Web Vitals data come from?

Data is sourced from Google Search Console CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report) field data when your GSC is connected, falling back to Lighthouse lab data for pages without sufficient real-user data.

Where do I view my Core Web Vitals scores?

Go to Audit then Core Web Vitals to see a per-page breakdown of LCP, INP, and CLS scores, overall pass/fail status for each metric, a trend over the past 30 days, and pages sorted by worst score.

How can I fix a slow LCP?

Common fixes for slow LCP include optimizing and compressing hero images using WebP, using a CDN for static assets, eliminating render-blocking scripts, and preloading the LCP image with a preload link.