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← Rankings

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

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 “bidding”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking (UET) shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 4K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #2 ↑2 1 too low 2 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 WPMR Google Feed Manager for WooCommerce – Sell on Google Merchant Center & Shopping 10K+ · 4.5★ (127) wp.org #3 ↑2 4 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Affiliate Sales in Google Analytics and other tools 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 Vuukle – Comments, Reactions, Quizzes, Share Bar & Ad Revenue 200+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 too low 7 AI Powered Marketing 50K+ · 2.7★ (29) wp.org #8 ↑3 1 too low 8 UniConsent Cookie Consent CMP – Consent Manager 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #5 ↑2 3 too high 9 Target Video Easy Publish 50+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #13 ↑2 4 too low 10 LexonAds: Get Free Traffic to Your Website & Traffic Exchange 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↑4 11 AdPresso – The Modern Ad Manager for AdSense, Banners & Ad Tracking 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 5 too low 12 Snack Ads.txt 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑2 6 too high 13 BudgetGuard 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑2 2 too high 14 Bidvana – Auctions for WooCommerce 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑3 3 too low 15 WhatsLink Click Tracker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Snack Ads 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 RoughEst Instant Estimate Calculator 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 3 too low 18 Gigneo – WordPress Service Marketplace & Platform Builder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 4 too low 19 Newor Media 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 GIA — GA4 Ecommerce Tracking for WooCommerce 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 3 too low 21 Taboola Pixel for WooCommerce 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Setupad WP Ads 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 1 too high 23 Clustova Commerce – AI Product Feed for WooCommerce — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Microsoft Advertising Universal Event Tracking (UET) 4K+ · 3.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↑1 15 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.