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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “automatic tagging”

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 “automatic tagging”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Automatic FFL shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 10+ 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

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode places #10 on merit, 4.4★ from 440 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #7 ↓2 5 too low 3 Embed Plus for YouTube Gallery, Livestream and Lazy Loading with Facades 100K+ · 4.6★ (572) wp.org #6 ↓2 3 too low 4 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #9 ↓1 4 too low 6 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 Booking for Appointments and Events Calendar – Amelia 90K+ · 4.6★ (793) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Kit (formerly ConvertKit) – Email Newsletter, Email Marketing, Membership, Subscribers and Landing Pages 40K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 FluentCRM – Email Newsletter, Automation, Email Marketing, Email Campaigns, Optins, Leads, and CRM Solution 80K+ · 4.8★ (250) wp.org #18 ↑2 7 too low 12 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #19 ↓4 7 too low 13 Auto Tag Creator – Automatic Tags for Posts and WooCommerce Products 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #2 ↓1 11 too high 14 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too high 15 CM Tooltip Glossary 7K+ · 4.3★ (157) wp.org #22 ↓4 7 too low 16 S Smart Tag Insert 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↓1 12 too high 17 Proxy Cache Purge 50K+ · 4.4★ (26) wp.org #15 ↓3 2 too high 18 Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 too low 19 RS WP Book Showcase – A Complete Book Catalogue & Library System 1K+ · 3.9★ (25) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 Klaviyo 100K+ · 2.8★ (24) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Block Data Attribute 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #23 ↓2 2 too low 22 Automatic FFL 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 14 too high 23 AutoLingo — Automatic Translation for Polylang & WPML 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 ServerTrack – Server-Side Tracking & Tagging for WooCommerce 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓3 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.