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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ad block”

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 “ad block”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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

Raptive Ads shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 3221 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #1 2 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #2 3 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #3 4 WooCommerce 7M+ · 4.5★ (4833) wp.org #5 ↓1 1 too low 5 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6 Block Visibility — Conditional Visibility Control for the Block Editor 40K+ · 4.9★ (108) wp.org #6 7 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #12 ↑10 2 too low 11 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #21 ↓1 9 too low 13 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #19 ↑2 6 too low 14 CHP Ads Block Detector 800+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Corner Ad 300+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #14 ↓1 1 too high 16 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #18 2 too low 17 Raptive Ads 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 8 too high 18 Ad Commander – Ad Manager for Banners, AdSense, Ad Networks 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 Qi Blocks 60K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 AdFlow – Ad Inserter & Ad Manager: AdSense, Banner Ads & ads.txt 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21 AdX Ad Inserter – Adsense and Ad Manager Ads 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Sticky Ads Lightweight 300+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 In-feed ads for Google AdSense 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24 Ad Engine – Gerenciador de Adx, Adsense e AdManager 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24

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.