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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “add tracking code”

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 “add tracking code”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

Simple Matomo Tracking Code shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 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 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #1 2 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1915) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Header Footer Code Manager 600K+ · 4.9★ (309) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #8 ↑4 3 too low 6 Insert PHP Code Snippet 90K+ · 4.9★ (707) wp.org #9 ↓2 3 too low 7 FluentSnippets – High-Performance Code Snippets, Header & Footer Code, Custom CSS & PHP Code Manager 50K+ · 4.7★ (78) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #5 ↓4 3 too high 9 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Head & Footer Code 100K+ · 5.0★ (51) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too high 11 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #18 ↓1 7 too low 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #19 ↓4 6 too low 14 AddFunc Head & Footer Code 20K+ · 5.0★ (25) wp.org #13 ↓3 1 too high 15 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Qyrr – simply and modern QR-Code creation 2K+ · 3.8★ (21) wp.org #22 ↓2 5 too low 18 Country Code For Elementor Form Telephone Field 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #24 ↓2 6 too low 19 Wp Tracking Codes 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓3 5 too high 20 Simple Matomo Tracking Code 800+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓2 10 too high 21 Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce 20K+ · 3.0★ (24) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 Tracking Script Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too high 23 QR Code Composer – Automatic QR code generation 3K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 YITH WooCommerce Order & Shipment Tracking 7K+ · 3.7★ (15) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.