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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bot 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 “bot analytics”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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

Geeky Bot – AI Chatbot & Sales Assistant for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #9 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 4 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 #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #1 2 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too low 6 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too high 7 Blackhole for Bad Bots 30K+ · 4.7★ (148) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #12 ↑2 4 too low 9 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #18 ↑1 8 too low 11 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #23 12 too low 12 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Maintenance 1M+ · 4.4★ (869) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑1 4 too high 16 Chat Button & Custom ChatGPT-Powered Bot by GetButton.io 20K+ · 4.5★ (175) wp.org #22 6 too low 17 Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) wp.org #17 ↑1 18 Telegram Bot & Channel 500+ · 4.8★ (22) wp.org #13 ↑3 5 too high 19 Bot Traffic Shield – Block Bad Bots and Stop AI Bots Crawlers 900+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #10 ↑1 9 too high 20 VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Geeky Bot – AI Chatbot & Sales Assistant for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 12 too high 22 DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too high 23 Live Traffic Analytics – Real-Time Visitor & Bot Tracking – Google Analytics Alternative 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 3 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.