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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “bot blocker”

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 blocker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control shows at wp.org #3 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 200+ 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

Download Manager places #10 on merit, 4.1★ from 1006 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #7 ↑2 4 too low 4 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #9 ↑4 5 too low 5 IP2Location Country Blocker 30K+ · 4.1★ (128) wp.org #6 ↓3 1 too low 6 Better Robots.txt – AI-Ready Crawl Control & Bot Governance 5K+ · 4.5★ (102) wp.org #8 ↓2 2 too low 7 WP Armour – Honeypot Anti Spam 400K+ · 5.0★ (1471) wp.org #16 ↓6 9 too low 8 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 BitFire Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, Bot Blocker, Login Protection 300+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Download Manager 100K+ · 4.1★ (1006) wp.org #23 ↓4 13 too low 11 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Vigilant – 100% Free Security Suite: Firewall, 2FA, Login, Headers, Scanner… 3K+ · 5.0★ (24) wp.org #20 ↓4 8 too low 13 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #15 ↓4 2 too low 14 Spam Protect for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #18 ↓6 4 too low 15 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 12 too high 16 Zaygl IP blocker and anti-DDoS 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓3 1 too low 17 Forge AI Bot Log – Block AI Bots, Crawler Detection & Verification 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 ↓3 7 too high 18 Registration Email Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑13 7 too high 19 stopfakeclicks – Bot Blocker for Google Ads — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓4 8 too high 21 Invalid Traffic Blocker 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 8 too high 22 CB Bot Guard 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Bot Protection with Turnstile 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Anti Fake Orders & IP Blocker 300+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓4 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.