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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “adblock 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 “adblock block”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 plugins are 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 it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #7 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #5 4 too low 2 Admiral Adblock Analytics 300+ · 3.5★ (12) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 CHP Ads Block Detector 800+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #18 ↓1 11 too low 8 MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) wp.org #12 4 too low 9 Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation 9K+ · 4.5★ (340) wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too low 10 AdUnblocker 200+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #10 11 ZDN Adblock Detector 100+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #4 7 too high 12 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too low 13 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too high 14 Gotham Block Extra Light 30+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #7 7 too high 15 Steady for WordPress 600+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #8 ↑1 7 too high 16 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #13 4 too high 18 Clarity – Ad blocker for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 Wow Elements Addons for Elementor 60+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Popup with exit intent, scroll triggered and anchor click for opt-ins, lead gen & more 40+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Tiny Simple AdBlock Detector 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 7 too high 23 My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 9 too high 24 AntiAdBlockCore – AdBlock Recovery — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 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.