Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “analytics blocker”

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 “analytics blocker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

Advanced Country Blocker shows at wp.org #9 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 2433 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #3 4 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #6 ↑3 1 too low 6 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Lara's Google Analytics (GA4) 8K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #11 ↑1 12 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #20 ↑4 8 too low 13 Analytics Spam Blocker 800+ · 3.9★ (14) wp.org #7 ↓1 6 too high 14 ShareThis Dashboard for Google Analytics 80K+ · 3.6★ (138) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Fathom Analytics for WP 10K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too low 16 TWIPLA – Website Intelligence 800+ · 4.6★ (18) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too high 17 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #15 ↑1 2 too high 18 Advanced Country Blocker 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 HT Easy GA4 – Google Analytics WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 Simple Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too high 21 Fathom Analytics Conversions 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too high 22 Enhanced Ecommerce Google Analytics for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 2 too low 23 DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.