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

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 “attribution”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 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

Shulman UTM Attribution for Elementor shows at wp.org #5 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 20+ 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

Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 169 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #1 2 HandL UTM Grabber / Tracker 10K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3 WP RSS Aggregator – RSS Import, Feed to Post, Autoblogging, AI Content 40K+ · 4.5★ (565) wp.org #8 ↓2 5 too low 4 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too low 5 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #11 ↑4 6 too low 6 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #17 11 too low 7 OSM – OpenStreetMap 10K+ · 4.6★ (137) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #18 ↑2 10 too low 9 Email Marketing for WooCommerce by Omnisend 40K+ · 4.9★ (169) wp.org #22 13 too low 10 Validate Audio Attribution 900+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 8 too high 11 LeadSource – UTM Tracking & Lead Source Attribution for Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 7 too high 12 TrueROAS AI Ad Attribution 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓3 6 too high 13 Splide Carousel Block 4K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #19 ↓3 6 too low 14 Light Modal Block 2K+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Simple Attribution 30+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #7 ↑3 8 too high 16 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↑1 5 too low 17 E Easy UTM tracking with contact form 7 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Cachebuster 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Pinterest for WooCommerce 200K+ · 2.3★ (68) wp.org #15 ↑3 4 too high 20 WooCommerce Analytics 20K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #9 ↓1 11 too high 21 Molongui Post Contributors: Multi-Role Contributor Attribution 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↓3 7 too high 22 Shulman UTM Attribution for Elementor 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↑2 17 too high 23 CallTrackingMetrics 3K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 PLX Lead Attribution 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↑2 12 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.