Search Engines Blocked in Header
by Marcel Bootsman · Privacy & Consent
Also makes 1 other plugin · 3.2K+ installs across the portfolio →
Display the 'Search Engines Discouraged' notification in the WordPress Toolbar if the blog_public option has been checked.
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 83/100
Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈250 estimated
Momentum
+59%
low volume, under 1,000 downloads a month
Biggest opportunity: Swap “privacy” for “search engines”. “privacy” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “search engines” sits at #13 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
83 health vs 69 average across 918 Privacy & Consent plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →2.8%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 7.2K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Privacy & Consent plugin keeps 2.1%, across 503 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Privacy & Consent 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
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 80 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 1 review, weighted for review count to 4.1★ 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.
38
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.3
Velocity
places per keyword, 25d
18%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 25d
0.0
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| blocked your tag | #1 | #18 | 0 |
| search engines | #13 | #24 | down 3 |
| header search | #14 | #23 | — |
| notification toolbar | #20 | #24 | up 3 |
| header notification | #22 | #24 | up 1 |
| privacy your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search engines blocked your tag | Not checked yet | ||
| seo your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| toolbar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
13 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 5 listed. 8 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Swap “privacy” for “search engines”. “privacy” isn't earning its slot: you're not in the first 24 results for its own search. “search engines” sits at #13 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 384 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ 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.
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
6mo ago
latest release · v2.1.0 · 8 May 2026
15
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 78% 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 “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 4.1 years 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 25 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ stripedshirtmedia1.6y ago
That is precisely what I was looking for, so I would know at a glance how my staging sites are configured. Thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 6 languages, 4 at 90% or more
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 31 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Display the 'Search Engines Discouraged' notification in the WordPress Toolbar if the blog_public option ha..."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 2 questions in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 2 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("who need"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,490 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "privacy", "seo" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2022-10-04 500+ → 200+ 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).
-
Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A -
SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ installs · 4.8★ · 1 shared tag A -
IndexNow Plugin 100K+ installs · 3.4★ · 1 shared tag B -
BoldGrid Easy SEO – Simple and Effective SEO 40K+ installs · 3.7★ · 1 shared tag B -
CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ installs · 4.6★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Search Engines Blocked in Header into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/search-engines-blocked-in-header" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Search Engines Blocked in Header — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Search Engines Blocked in Header: 200+ active installs, 5.0★ (1 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-03. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/search-engines-blocked-in-header
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