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← Rankings

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

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 verification”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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 #4 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 13 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

Head, Footer and Post Injections places #11 on merit, 4.9★ from 735 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #1 2 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 3 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #3 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #5 6 Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) wp.org #8 1 too low 8 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #9 ↑5 10 AWP Classifieds 3K+ · 4.6★ (301) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too low 11 Head, Footer and Post Injections 200K+ · 4.9★ (735) wp.org #20 ↓1 9 too low 12 Woody Code Snippets – Insert PHP, CSS, JS, and Header/Footer Scripts 50K+ · 4.5★ (221) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too low 13 GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Listdom: AI-powered Business Directory with Classifieds Ads Listings 1K+ · 4.9★ (60) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #22 ↑2 6 too low 17 Raptive Ads 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 13 too high 18 Pixel Tag Manager for WooCommerce – Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, and More Pixels 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Add Pinterest conversion tags for Pinterest Ads + Site verification 1K+ · 3.3★ (9) wp.org #11 ↓1 8 too high 20 GAM Ad Inserter – Adx & Ad Manager Ads 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 CM Ad Changer – A simple tool to control and optimize your site’s banners 100+ · 3.1★ (15) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Mediavine Control Panel 10K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 ↑1 2 too low 23 Add LinkedIn Insight Tag for LinkedIn Ads 4K+ · 3.3★ (4) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 Ad Refresh Control 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.