Do You Really Need to Achieve All 3 Core Web Vitals Scores to Improve Your SEO Rankings?

Google has clarified several important points regarding Core Web Vitals and their impact on SEO. Contrary to initial information, these performance indicators now apply to both desktop and mobile results.

Google's algorithm uses a similar page grouping approach to evaluate performance. When certain data is missing for a specific page, Google can rely on metrics from other comparable pages on the same site to establish a common score.

The most important point concerns the binary scoring system: it is not necessary to achieve a perfect score on all three metrics (LCP, FID, CLS). Once the "good" threshold is reached, improving your scores further will not provide additional SEO benefits.

• Core Web Vitals now apply to both desktop and mobile
• Google can use grouped data from similar pages to compensate for missing data
• The system works on an "all-or-nothing" basis: either you're in the green zone, or you're not
• Moving from "good" to "excellent" does not further improve your ranking
• Having all three indicators in the green simultaneously is not mandatory

This clarification reveals inconsistent communication from Google on the subject. After initially suggesting that all three metrics needed to be optimal, they're now adopting a more nuanced position, which can confuse SEO professionals.

In practice, I do observe that sites with two out of three metrics in the green can benefit from a ranking boost. However, real-world experience shows that aiming for excellence remains relevant for the overall user experience, even if Google claims it doesn't directly improve ranking beyond the threshold.

The binary threshold concept suggests that you should prioritize intelligently: it's better to fix a catastrophic metric than to optimize an already good metric to the extreme. Focus your efforts where the impact will be most significant to cross critical thresholds.

• Audit your three main metrics (LCP, FID, CLS) via Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights to identify which ones are below the "good" threshold
• Prioritize fixes on metrics in the red or orange zone rather than further optimizing those already in the green
• Extend your strategy to desktop: don't focus solely on mobile performance anymore
• Analyze your templates by groups: identify types of similar pages and ensure no category consistently performs poorly
• Don't over-optimize: once the "good" threshold is reached, reallocate your technical resources to other aspects of SEO
• Monitor the overall consistency of your site: the grouping system means a problematic section can affect other pages
• Test regularly with real field data rather than relying solely on lab tests