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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “behavioral analytics”

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 “behavioral analytics”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Sigmize: A/B Testing, Session Recordings, Heatmaps & Revenue Tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart & EDD shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 5K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 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 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Microsoft Clarity 200K+ · 4.5★ (14) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #8 ↓3 5 too low 4 Tracking and Consent Manager – WP Full Picture 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #4 5 True Lazy Analytics 5K+ · 4.7★ (11) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #17 ↓1 11 too low 7 Email Subscribers & Newsletters by Icegram Express – Email Marketing, Post Notifications & WooCommerce Marekting Automation for WordPress 50K+ · 4.6★ (1170) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 WPBot – AI ChatBot for Live Support, Lead Generation, WordPress Automation, AI Services 5K+ · 4.7★ (124) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too low 9 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #12 ↓2 3 too low 10 Redis Object Cache 500K+ · 4.5★ (179) wp.org #14 ↓3 4 too low 11 ActiveLayer Anti-Spam: Spam Protection for Forms & Comments 10K+ · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too high 12 Putler – Simple WooCommerce Analytics for your Store 200+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Hitsteps Web Analytics 700+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #5 ↓1 8 too high 14 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 Personizely — A/B Testing, Personalization, Popups & CRO 300+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #20 ↓1 5 too low 16 PushEngage – Web Push Notifications, WooCommerce Automation & Chat Widget 8K+ · 4.3★ (37) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Sigmize: A/B Testing, Session Recordings, Heatmaps & Revenue Tracking for WooCommerce, SureCart & EDD 5K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑1 11 too high 18 Instant Popup Builder – Popup Maker for Videos, Forms, Offers, Announcements, Galleries & Exit Intent 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓3 6 too low 19 Amplitude – Analytics, Session Replay, A/B testing and CDP for your website 700+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓3 10 too high 20 Trackboxx Analytics 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 ezStats Analytics 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 FPAI – First-Party AI Analytics 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Leadfeeder 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 RankWorks In-Site 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓5 1 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.