Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “410”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “410”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 1 plugin is pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

410 Response Manager shows at wp.org #3 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance places #7 on merit, 4.7★ from 62 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 H HTTP 410 (Gone) responses 4K+ · 4.6★ (21) wp.org #1 2 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268) wp.org #5 ↓3 3 too low 3 404 Solution 10K+ · 4.9★ (44) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Smart Attachment Page Remove 900+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Safe Redirect Manager 40K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #10 ↑3 4 too low 7 CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 WPMasterToolKit (WPMTK) – All in one plugin 5K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #13 ↓3 5 too low 9 Booter – Bots & Crawlers Manager 7K+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #8 ↓2 1 too high 10 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #17 ↑2 7 too low 11 Ultimate 410 Gone Status Code 6K+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #6 ↓1 5 too high 12 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #12 ↑3 13 410 Response Manager 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 ↑1 10 too high 14 Search Atlas SEO – OTTO AI SEO Automation for WordPress 7K+ · 3.3★ (24) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Advanced Country Blocker 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 Gone Response 300+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 Bulk NoIndex & NoFollow Toolkit 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #20 ↓4 3 too low 18 4 410 Link Unlinker 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 SurfLink – Link Manager & Backup Restore 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 410Gone Consent Manager for Google Consent Mode and GTM 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Advanced Redirect Manager 301 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 2 too high 22 LinkRail Redirects, 404 & Security 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓2 23 Simplistic page navi 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 24 Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights 50+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #21 3 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.