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Metrics type: Supporting Metrics • Category: Website Performance

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At a glance

All-three CWV pass rate over time, daily time-series of the percentage of mobile page-loads where LCP, INP, and CLS all met “good” thresholds simultaneously. Pairs with psi_cwv_pass_rate snapshot. The single most important trend for ranking impact: Google’s CWV ranking signal flips from neutral to penalty when this drops below 75 percent. Watching this trend is how you detect the moment your site crosses into the failing band, before competitors notice the ranking gap.

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Calculation

Calculated automatically from your Website Performance (PageSpeed + CrUX) data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading.

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Worked example

A UK-based BigCommerce fashion store, mobile pass rate trend over 6 months ending Wednesday 15 May 26. What the trend is telling us:
  1. The 75 percent threshold was crossed in February 2026, three months ago. Since then the site has been in the failing band; Google’s CWV ranking signal has been treating it as failing CWV. Estimated organic traffic loss: 8-15 percent on competitive queries during this period vs the counterfactual where pass rate stayed above 75 percent.
  2. The threshold crossing was visible in the trend a month earlier. The Jan 26 reading at 78 percent showed the margin tightening; a +threshold-warning alert at “current value approaching 75 percent” would have fired then, prompting investigation before the breach.
  3. The recovery target: lift back to 80+ percent (5pp cushion above threshold). Current 64.8 percent + 15-20 percentage point recovery brings the site back to comfortable passing territory. Recovery requires the LCP + INP + CLS work documented across the per-CWV cards.
  4. The 28-day rolling lag: a deploy fixing performance today will start moving the pass rate at day 7-14, fully reflect at day 28. Crossing back above 75 percent typically takes 4-6 weeks post-fix. Plan accordingly for the BC demo timeline; the threshold crossing won’t be instant.
  5. Sustained-vs-momentary crossing matters for ranking. Google’s algorithm doesn’t penalise sites for a single bad week; it penalises sustained sub-75 percent. Brands at 76-78 percent are at risk but not penalised; brands sustained below 70 percent for 30+ days face meaningful penalty. The current site has been sustained below 75 percent for 3 months, fully in penalty zone.
  6. Recovery sequence: address LCP first (image work), adds ~10-15 percentage points to pass rate. Then INP (third-party deferral + filter widget), adds another 5-7. Then CLS polish, adds another 3-5. Total recovery: 18-27 percentage points, lifting from 64.8 → 83-92 percent.
The diagnostic flow when this card flags failing:
  1. Decompose by sub-metric. Identify which CWV is dragging pass rate hardest.
  2. Apply the highest-leverage fix first (typically LCP via image work).
  3. Plan to the 28-day window. Recovery takes 4-6 weeks for full reflection.
  4. Set the warning alert at 80 percent (not 75%) for early signal.
Rapid-response playbook:

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Sibling cards merchants should reference together

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Reconciling against the vendor’s own dashboard

Where to look:
  • GSC → Core Web Vitals, surfaces the same pass rate that Google uses for ranking.
  • CrUX Dashboard via Looker Studio, official trend explorer.
  • PageSpeed Insights, current snapshot.
Why the Vortex IQ pass rate trend may differ from GSC: Cross-connector reconciliation: primarily internal (with sub-metric trends and the lab score trend). Quick rule for support tickets: if a merchant says “my pass rate dropped 5 points overnight”, the 28-day rolling smoothing should prevent overnight drops. If you see one, it’s likely a CrUX dataset transition (monthly publication) rather than a real performance regression.

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Known limitations / merchant FAQs

At what pass rate do I face ranking penalty? Below 75 percent sustained for 30+ days. Brief dips don’t trigger penalty; sustained sub-75 percent is when Google’s algorithm classifies the site as failing CWV. Recommended operating range: 80+ percent for a 5pp safety cushion above threshold. My pass rate is 78 percent. Should I worry? Tightening margin. You’re passing CWV but with little room to absorb regression. Investigate what’s keeping you at 78 percent rather than 90 percent, typically one sub-metric dragging. Address that sub-metric to lift the buffer. How long does ranking recovery take after I cross back above 75 percent? Estimated 60-90 days for the ranking signal to fully re-evaluate. Google’s algorithm uses sustained measurements; even after the threshold-cross, Google needs 30-60 days of confirmation before lifting the penalty. Why was my crossing point in February when my regression started in November? The 28-day rolling window absorbs gradually. November regression → February threshold-crossing reflects ~3 months of accumulated drift compounding to push the rolling average across the threshold. Catching the regression in November would have prevented the threshold crossing entirely. Can I have high CWV pass rate but bad commercial performance? Possible but unusual. CWV pass rate correlates with bounce rate and conversion rate; sites passing CWV typically have healthier commercial metrics. Persistent disconnect suggests other commercial issues (pricing, product-market-fit, brand perception) not addressed by performance work alone. Should I report pass rate or score to leadership? Pass rate. It’s the metric Google uses for ranking; it’s the metric that affects revenue. The lab score is engineering-internal; pass rate is the business signal.

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Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre

Speed Test Pass Rate Over Time is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Website Performance (PageSpeed + CrUX) and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. Start for free or book a demo to see this metric running on your own data.