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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “associate”

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 “associate”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 of the top 20. 4 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

DevDome Affiliate Manager: Amazon Affiliate Plugin for Amazon Associates shows at wp.org #5 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 18 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

ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 251 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. 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 #6 ↑6 5 too low 2 Perfect Brands for WooCommerce 40K+ · 4.7★ (414) wp.org #7 ↓1 5 too low 3 WP Recipe Maker 50K+ · 5.0★ (356) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #12 ↓2 7 too low 6 Associate Attachment 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Affiliate Program Suite — SliceWP Affiliates 10K+ · 4.9★ (111) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #19 ↑2 10 too low 10 Amazon Link Engine 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #8 ↓1 2 too high 11 Modern Footnotes 6K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12 A Attachments 8K+ · 4.8★ (53) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Books Gallery – Book Showcase, Library & Affiliate Plugin 2K+ · 4.8★ (92) wp.org #17 4 too low 14 Amazing Affiliates – Toolkit for Amazon Associates with Amazon Product Blocks and Amazon PAAPI5 / Creators API integration 600+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 ↓1 11 too high 15 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 WP Associate Post R2 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 ↑1 14 too high 17 Corner Ad 300+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 CodePeople Post Map for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.2★ (31) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 Fattura24 400+ · 4.9★ (96) wp.org #23 ↑1 4 too low 20 Affiliate Super Assistent 1K+ · 4.6★ (36) wp.org #22 ↑1 2 too low 21 YITH WooCommerce Affiliates 6K+ · 4.2★ (19) wp.org #16 5 too high 22 WP Discourse 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 DevDome Affiliate Manager: Amazon Affiliate Plugin for Amazon Associates 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 18 too high 24 Portugal CTT Tracking for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #20 ↓1 4 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.