RSS Control
by Matt Pramschufer · Content & Feeds
Also makes 6 other plugins · 1.4K+ installs across the portfolio →
Control your sites RSS feeds with additional query param options.
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
A 86/100
Few reviews
Active installs
300+
≈330 estimated
Momentum
+1%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “google news” for “control”. “google news” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “control” sits at #19 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
86 health vs 64 average across 1,193 Content & Feeds plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →3.5%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 8.7K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Content & Feeds plugin keeps 0.8%, across 863 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Content & Feeds 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.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 9 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, 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
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
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.
60
Momentum
Gaining ground
+2.0
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
53%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
+2.3
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| rss control your tag | #2 | #18 | — |
| filter rss your tag | #4 | #21 | — |
| google publisher center your tag | #7 | #19 | up 1 |
| rss your tag | #9 | #20 | up 6 |
| control | #19 | #24 | down 1 |
| rss feeds | #18 | #22 | 0 |
| custom rss | #8 | #23 | up 5 |
| rss page | #8 | #21 | 0 |
| rss plugin | #9 | #20 | 0 |
| rss post | #9 | #19 | down 1 |
| rss feed | #19 | #24 | up 2 |
| google rss feed | #12 | #22 | up 12 |
| disable rss feeds | #13 | #23 | 0 |
| wordpress rss news | #17 | #22 | down 1 |
| google news your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
54 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 14 listed. 40 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 1 of its tags isn't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “google news” for “control”. “google news” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “control” sits at #19 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 14 Jul 2026 · 110 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 487 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ 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
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.
2
releases in the last 12 months
9d ago
latest release · v4.2.0 · 22 Oct 2026
22
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin. 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 “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 30% of the way through.
Install history since 28 Nov 2022
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Eric Shanfelt4.2y ago
This is my go-to plugin for media companies wanting to use their RSS feeds for various purposes … especially for integrating RSS with email newsletters to better automate email sending. Excellent support, no compatibility issues, and the developer is willing to make updates and accept new feature requests as well.
Read on wp.org ↗
Security history
via Wordfence IntelligenceThe 1 disclosed vulnerability is patched in the current version (4.2.0). Sites still on an older version should update.
- 2023-07-18 CVE-2023-33999 Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation Affects 2.0.2 - 3.0.5 Patched in 3.0.8
Vulnerability records provided by Wordfence Intelligence. Copyright 2012-2026 Defiant Inc. License and terms.
CVE records: Copyright 1999-2026 The MITRE Corporation. CVE terms of use.
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 7.0.1
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.
Share of voice
How often each assistant names RSS Control when asked about this topic, where it comes in the answer, and how that compares with its wp.org search position. Latest run 25 Oct 2026.
- Assistants
- ChatGPT, Claude
- Topics tracked
- RSS feeds
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 26 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 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 Yoast.
- ✓ Headings and lists 40 headings and 1 list.
- ✓ Enough to quote 13,363 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "filter rss" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-13 70+ → 300+ up
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).
-
GN Publisher: Google News Compatible RSS Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags A -
XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ installs · 4.4★ · 1 shared tag A -
RSS for Yandex Turbo 20K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag B -
RSS Importer 20K+ installs · 3.0★ · 1 shared tag D - D Disable Feeds 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag D
-
Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for RSS Control into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/rss-control" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="RSS Control — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> RSS Control: 300+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/rss-control
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