EDH Bad Bots
by EncodeDotHost · Security
Also makes 3 other plugins · 50+ installs across the portfolio →
A smart WordPress plugin that automatically blocks malicious bots and crawlers that ignore your site's robots.txt file.
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 81/100
Few reviews
Active installs
50+
≈50 estimated
Momentum
-5%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “dns”, “security” and “bots” for “bad bots”, “bad” and “block bots”. “dns” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “bad bots” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “security” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “bad” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “bots” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #17. “block bots” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
81 health vs 66 average across 1,776 Security plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.8%
of downloads still active
At least 50 of 1.3K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Security plugin keeps 1.4%, across 1,060 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Security 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 2 releases 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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Support resolution
Updated 143 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.0.8, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 1 review, smoothed to 4.12★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
0 of 1 support threads resolved in the last 2 months
To rank higher: Mark more forum threads resolved — the resolved ratio feeds the ranking.
Get the full rank-higher report →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.
41
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
25%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+0.5
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| ptr your tag | #2 | #4 | 0 |
| bad bots | #6 | #22 | 0 |
| bad | #7 | #24 | up 2 |
| hostname your tag | #14 | #24 | up 1 |
| bots your tag | #17 | #23 | 0 |
| stop bad bots | #6 | #23 | down 1 |
| block bots | #24 | #24 | down 1 |
| dns your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
20 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 7 listed. 13 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “dns”, “security” and “bots” for “bad bots”, “bad” and “block bots”. “dns” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “bad bots” sits at #6 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “security” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “bad” sits at #7 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “bots” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #17. “block bots” sits at #24 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
- One page off on “hostname”. #14 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
Daily downloads
Since 4 Sep 2025 · 423 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 275 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #20,100 to #21,200, alongside the other plugins at 50+ 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 21 Oct 2026.
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
Update activity
Downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites.
Not enough installs to measure. This needs at least 100 active sites; below that, a handful of downloads reads as tens of thousands.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
2
releases in the last 12 months
5mo ago
latest release · v1.7.4 · 11 Jun 2026
4
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 “50+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band yesterday and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just over 50.
At the current install trend, crossing 60+ in roughly 74 days.
Install history since 3 Sep 2025
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Aster10mo ago
Interface is easy to understand, easy to access the list of blocked bots or add/remove things to/from the whitelist. Even works if your site has a cache plugin, since you can just add the trap link to exceptions.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0
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.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
7 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 "A smart WordPress plugin that automatically blocks malicious bots and crawlers that ignore your site's robo..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 13 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 13 of 13 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Cloudflare.
- ✓ Headings and lists 28 headings and 17 lists.
- ✓ Enough to quote 8,048 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 5 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-31 40+ → 50+ up after 10 days in tier
- 2026-10-21 50+ → 40+ down after 10 days in tier
- 2026-10-11 40+ → 50+ up after 59 days in tier
- 2026-08-13 30+ → 40+ up after 49 days in tier
- 2026-06-25 20+ → 30+ up after 6 days in tier
- 2026-06-19 30+ → 20+ down after 4 days in tier
- 2026-06-15 20+ → 30+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2026-06-13 30+ → 20+ down after 4 days in tier
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).
-
BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security 100K+ installs · 4.9★ · 2 shared tags A -
Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA 50K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A -
Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 30K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP-Ban 8K+ installs · 3.7★ · 2 shared tags B -
Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for EDH Bad Bots into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/edh-bad-bots" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="EDH Bad Bots — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> EDH Bad Bots: 50+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/edh-bad-bots
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