Simple Google Authorship and Avatar
by Mark-k · Login & Users
Also makes 6 other plugins · 1.3K+ installs across the portfolio →
Enables users to easily claim google authorship on their content and use their google profile picture as an avatar
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
D 43/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
20+
≈25 estimated
Momentum
-50%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “authorship”, “avatar” and “google authorship” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
43 health vs 61 average across 2,206 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.5%
of downloads still active
At least 20 of 3.7K lifetime downloads are still running, in line with its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,478 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
High removal-risk signals
63/100Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.
- Long abandoned. No update in 13+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 3.5.2, well behind 6.8.
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 5025 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 3.5.2; the current branch is 6.8
3.0★ over 2 reviews, smoothed to 4.06★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 5025 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
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.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| authorship your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| avatar your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| google authorship your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| google profile your tag | Not checked yet | ||
0 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 3 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “authorship”, “avatar” and “google authorship” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,490 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 51 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #25,400 to #28,300, alongside the other plugins at 20+ 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
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
No release in a yearHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
0
releases in the last 12 months
13.8y ago
latest release · v1.0 · 29 Jan 2013
1
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 “20+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 11 months ago; the previous band took 18 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 19 Sep 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Alex Nguyen13.2y ago
The plugin doesn’t work.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ wakaseoo13.5y ago
I find the configuration mechanism surprising. Most other plugin simply ask the profile the G+ URL ; this one queries authentification and fetches the url programmaticaly. At least, it means there is no typo. The option to have a badge is interesting too, even if I didn’t want to enable it. I think the option to claim authorship should be enabled by default. It cannot harm, and otherwise some people may think the plugin doesn’t work. Now, the link rel="author" is added on each article. But WP already provides such a a href rel="author on the author page. I think it would be more elegant to add link rel="me" on the author page instead (and leave the article page as it is by default if the avatar is not enabled)
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.
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 2 Nov 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Enables users to easily claim google authorship on their content and use their google profile picture as an..."
- ! Has a FAQ No FAQ section.
- ! FAQ asks real questions No FAQ to judge.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,018 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text All 4 tags appear in the text.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2025-12-09 30+ → 20+ down after 526 days in tier
- 2024-07-01 40+ → 30+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-06-30 30+ → 40+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-06-28 40+ → 30+ down after 328 days in tier
- 2023-08-05 50+ → 40+ down after 305 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 70+ → 50+ down after 516 days in tier
- 2021-05-06 100+ → 70+ down after 597 days in tier
- 2019-09-17 500+ → 100+ 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).
- G Google Plus Authorship 1K+ installs · 4.0★ · 2 shared tags D
- D Disable comments with Google authorship 10+ installs · 3.6★ · 2 shared tags
-
Simple Local Avatars 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
Gravatar Enhanced – Avatars, Profiles, and Privacy 100K+ installs · 4.1★ · 1 shared tag A -
One User Avatar | User Profile Picture 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A -
User Profile Picture 40K+ installs · 4.5★ · 1 shared tag A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Simple Google Authorship and Avatar into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/simple-google-authorship-and-avatar" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Simple Google Authorship and Avatar — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Simple Google Authorship and Avatar: 20+ active installs, 3.0★ (2 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/simple-google-authorship-and-avatar
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