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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “backlink checker”

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 “backlink checker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Linktrade: Backlink Monitor & Reciprocal Link Checker shows at wp.org #4 but places #10 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #1 2 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #2 3 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #3 4 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #11 7 too low 5 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 DiagnoSEO – Fast and Automated On-page SEO 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 Radio Station by netmix® – Manage and play your Show Schedule in WordPress! 1K+ · 4.6★ (30) wp.org #7 8 Seraphinite Post .DOCX Source 800+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #18 10 too low 9 SEO Fury – SEO & GEO: Schema, XML Sitemap, Redirects, 404 Monitor, llms.txt 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Linktrade: Backlink Monitor & Reciprocal Link Checker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 AnyBacklink: Backlink Checker and Link Swaps — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 D DNZ Citation Readiness Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 WerkCV Salaris Tools — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 VDL Search Visibility Scanner – Noindex, Sitemap & SEO Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Coretex SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 ABDS SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 AI Rank Suite — AI Search, llms.txt, Schema & SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Digispot AI – AI SEO Tools, Audit & MCP AI Agent — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 S Surbma | WP Control 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Backlink Checker 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Post SEO Score Checker 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 Backlink Checker SEO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 TruVisibility Plagiarism Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23

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.