Contextly Recommends
by rsingel · SEO
Also makes 1 other plugin · 110+ installs across the portfolio →
Build your audience with great related and popular recommendations. Let readers follow topics. Editorial control and machine learning.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 80/100
no flags
Active installs
100+
≈150 estimated
Momentum
+36%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “custom posts” for “machine learning”. “custom posts” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “machine learning” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
80 health vs 66 average across 2,241 SEO plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.2%
of downloads still active
At least 100 of 57.8K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median SEO plugin keeps 1.2%, across 1,198 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other SEO plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Well tuned across the board
Updated 138 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8; the current branch is 7.1
3.8★ over 23 reviews, weighted for review count to 4.0★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
38
Momentum
Mixed: one swing, the rest drifting
+0.1
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
16%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.1
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| machine learning | #16 | #15 | down 1 |
| related links your tag | #21 | #21 | up 2 |
| custom posts your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| promotion your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| related your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
22 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 2 listed. 20 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “custom posts” for “machine learning”. “custom posts” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “machine learning” sits at #16 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 1.8K · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #13,300 to #16,400, alongside the other plugins at 100+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 1 Nov 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v6.1.3 · 18 Jun 2026
43
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “100+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 17 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 1 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ ssalpietro7.6y ago
As a non-profit, we’re always looking for most bang for less buck. When trying to get “related reading” and “you might like” content suggestions on our website, we kept finding that our host banned most of these plugins because they are extremely resource intensive. Especially for childmind.org, which gets over 1MM visits monthly. Contextly helped us offload this task, provides smart recommendations, and gets better over time. Install simple, or install complex and customize. Whichever way, the guys at Contextly are always there to help. Additionally, we get a 10-15% click rate, which adds thousands of page views (and reduced bounce rates) across our website. This topic was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Jan Dembowski. Reason: Removed link
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nakita_dog7.7y ago
Contextly is truly a great plugin for adding additional links at the end of your blog posts. They also have great plugin support which is something that you don’t always get with WordPress plugins. Thanks, Contextly!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ rasseya7.7y ago
I evaluated dozens of “You might like” related content plugins. Of all of them, this one was cloud based (which my hosting site made a requirement, and disabled my original one) and had the best set of features available for my environment. A few other plugins stated some nice features, but every time I tried them out, they didn’t work as advertised. The support, if you happen to run into an issue, is stellar. They are professional and expeditious. I would recommend this plug-in!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ docpop9.7y ago
Contextly is a life saver for me. I don’t get a lot of traffic on my site, so it’s great to see visitors landing on one article, then bouncing over to other related articles because of the Contextly recommendation.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ janomix10.6y ago
Is not free. Jetpack work best and for life.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Internetoholik11.2y ago
Thanks for the plugin, it works very well on my site. I had very good experience with a quick support, better than on premium plugins! Thanks again, Tom
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Rachel S11.2y ago
It seems you have to actually pay to the use the plug in or Contextly cuts you off. Bite me.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ nerdalicious11.3y ago
We used Contextly for free quite happily while they developed and tested. Undoubtedly Contextly received some benefit from the data they gathered from our users. We were sent a bill two months ago and had the service suddenly cut off. When we signed up to use Contextly it was free, and this was the first time we had ever heard about paying for their service. I switched to the WordPress Jetpack built in related posts plug-in. Contextly contacted us and enquired why we had switched off their plug-in. I explaining that it was no longer working, and they had sent us a bill, and also that I would be happy to pay for their service if they in some way added some value to our site, particularly that I would be happy to use it if they brought new traffic to us. I was assured that the bill was an error, and that we were part of their free tier, they would indeed be bringing more and better services in the near future, and they re-activated the service. A month later we were cut off again. This time there was no explanation, no response to our emails, just the message that our API key was no longer valid, and when I clicked on the button to get a new API code, I received the message “Ooops, it looks like something went wrong. We’re working on it right now.” Poor show from Contextly. No communication about this issue, cut off without explanation. After trying for several times over the next few days to get a response from Contextly and to get an new valid API key, we gave up. We will be using WordPress’s built in Related Posts from now on, which is free, matches our theme better, can be modified to our needs, and won’t be deactivated on a whim.
Read on wp.org ↗
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
This plugin’s searches fall outside the topics measured so far. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
8 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Build your audience with great related and popular recommendations. Let readers follow topics. Editorial co..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 9 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 9 of 9 read like questions a user would type.
- ✓ Names who it is for Names its audience or use cases ("for writers", "if you have").
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions YouTube.
- ✓ Headings and lists 2 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 5,340 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "custom posts" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-06-16 200+ → 100+ down after 352 days in tier
- 2024-06-29 300+ → 200+ down after 634 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 400+ → 300+ down after 782 days in tier
- 2020-08-13 1K+ → 400+ down
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Contextly Recommends into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/contextly-related-links" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Contextly Recommends — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Contextly Recommends: 100+ active installs, 3.8★ (23 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/contextly-related-links
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