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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “auto delete”

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 “auto delete”, 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

Auto Delete Applications – Add-on for HireZoot shows at wp.org #3 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 16 places. Its 1K+ 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

Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 537 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 WP Bulk Delete 90K+ · 4.6★ (131) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #4 ↑2 2 too low 3 Auto Delete Post – Ultimate plugin for deleting a post automatically 300+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Auto Upload Images 20K+ · 4.3★ (106) wp.org #5 ↓1 6 Media Cleaner: Delete Unused Images & Clean Your Media Library 90K+ · 4.6★ (779) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too low 8 Auto-Install Free SSL – Generate & Install Free SSL Certificates 8K+ · 4.9★ (405) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too low 9 WP Frontend Delete Account 4K+ · 4.6★ (27) wp.org #7 2 too high 10 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #17 ↓1 7 too low 11 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 FluentSMTP – WP Mail SMTP Plugin with Amazon SES, SendGrid, Mailgun, Postmark, Cloudflare, toSend, Gmail and Any SMTP 700K+ · 4.8★ (410) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #22 9 too low 14 Drag and Drop Multiple File Upload for Contact Form 7 60K+ · 4.8★ (94) wp.org #21 ↑2 7 too low 15 Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #13 ↑2 3 too high 17 Loginizer 1M+ · 4.8★ (1033) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 W WP Auto Updater 7K+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 Auto Delete Applications – Add-on for HireZoot 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 16 too high 20 Auto Post Cleaner 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Auto Delete System Status Logs for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↑1 12 too high 22 A Auto Prune Posts 1K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 too low 23 Users Bulk Delete With Preview 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 auto-post.io 200+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.