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

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 detector”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.

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

Device Detector shows at wp.org #2 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative places #8 on merit, 4.1★ from 758 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3221) wp.org #1 2 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 WP Hide & Security Enhancer 50K+ · 4.3★ (275) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Everest Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form, Quiz, Survey & Custom Form Builder with AI 90K+ · 4.9★ (375) wp.org #14 ↑4 10 too low 5 Known Agents – Track AI Bots and Crawlers, Block Scrapers, Analyze LLM Referral Traffic 1K+ · 4.8★ (6) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #12 ↑4 5 too low 8 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 Royal MCP – Secure AI Connector for Claude, ChatGPT & any LLM via MCP 10K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #9 10 WebDefender Security – Protection & AntiSpam 1K+ · 4.0★ (18) wp.org #13 ↑4 3 too low 11 DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 Device Detector 500+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Fake User Detector 90+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Hack The SEO – MCP Server for Claude, AI Bot Tracker, llms.txt, GEO Score & Cannibalization 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too low 15 LLM Bot Tracker – AI Crawler Detection & Analytics 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 9 too high 16 BotSieve – Bot & Fake Traffic Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 ↑2 5 too high 17 AEOmatic – AEO for AI Search: llms.txt, Schema & AI Crawler Check 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 4 too low 18 EZY.ai – AEO & AI SEO for ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini 100+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #16 ↑4 2 too high 19 PSB Bot Traffic Controller — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too high 20 TroubleLens – Conflict Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too high 21 FocusWeb AI Visibility 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↑3 2 too high 22 AlmaWeb AI Visitor Analytics 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑3 2 too high 23 OwlyCrackGeo — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑2 1 too high 24 Frontend As Any User | Avoid any issue with Cloudflare full page cache — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 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.