Bing Custom Search for WordPress
by Steve Bruner · Search
Also makes 3 other plugins · 150+ installs across the portfolio →
Improve the search functionality on your site by using Bing Custom Search for WordPress.
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 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
40+
≈43 estimated
Momentum
-9%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “advanced search”, “better search” and “bing” 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.
47 health vs 63 average across 980 Search plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →0.4%
of downloads still active
At least 40 of 9.3K lifetime downloads are still running, below its category: the median Search plugin keeps 0.7%, across 647 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Search plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 3+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.9.20.
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 1208 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.9.20; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.15★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 1208 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| advanced search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| better search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| bing your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| custom search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| search your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 0 listed. 1 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 5 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “advanced search”, “better search” and “bing” 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 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 183 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #21,400 to #22,800, alongside the other plugins at 40+ 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.
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
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
3.3y ago
latest release · v2.6.3 · 13 Jul 2023
19
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 “40+”. 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 32% of the way through.
Install history since 13 Nov 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ phildoubleyou6.2y ago
Watch the video they said. ‘Bing search is a new FREE service’. Great just the thing for a Charity website, they are supporting people with life-changing illnesses so this will be a good thing for them. The video looked good so off to the download page… It’s not free, its a charged service I’m used to plugins that fall short of being good unless you ‘go pro’ where if you need six plug-ins for ten years on a single website you can kiss £1K goodbye. But the intro video is blatant misinformation. This topic was modified 5 years, 11 months ago by phildoubleyou.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mportelli6.2y ago
I love this plugin as it solved a number of issues with implementing Bing Custom Search on my site and enables the easy integration of Bing search results with your site’s theme so as to ensure brand continuity. Any issues i did have (minor issues) were dealt with promptly by the creators, adding to the appeal of the plugin. Definitely worth using if you have Bing Custom Search in mind for integration within your site. Highly recommended.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ iSigner7.0y ago
Using Bing for search is a great idea. Results are fast and accurate, and I can include results from our others sites. Adding the Piklist plugin allowed for awesome tabbed results. Great job!
Read on wp.org ↗
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 2 languages, 0 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.
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
5 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Improve the search functionality on your site by using Bing Custom Search for WordPress."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 4 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 WooCommerce, bbPress, BuddyPress, Multisite.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 470 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "advanced search", "better search" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-07-10 30+ → 40+ up after 11 days in tier
- 2026-06-29 40+ → 30+ down after 147 days in tier
- 2026-02-02 50+ → 40+ down after 36 days in tier
- 2025-12-28 40+ → 50+ up after 51 days in tier
- 2025-11-07 50+ → 40+ down after 17 days in tier
- 2025-10-21 40+ → 50+ up after 16 days in tier
- 2025-10-05 50+ → 40+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-10-04 40+ → 50+ up after 5 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).
-
Swiftype Site Search Plugin for WordPress 400+ installs · 3.7★ · 3 shared tags D -
Site Search 360 300+ installs · 4.3★ · 3 shared tags B - P Post Meta Searcher 100+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags D
-
Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ installs · 4.7★ · 2 shared tags A -
ACF: Better Search 40K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Bing Custom Search for WordPress into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-bing-search" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Bing Custom Search for WordPress — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Bing Custom Search for WordPress: 40+ active installs, 5.0★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-02. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-bing-search
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