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

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 tracker”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

LLM Bot Tracker – AI Crawler Detection & Analytics shows at wp.org #1 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP places #9 on merit, 4.9★ from 79 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #3 ↑1 2 too low 2 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #7 5 too low 3 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #8 ↑8 4 too low 5 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection 700K+ · 4.6★ (3992) wp.org #16 ↓1 10 too low 7 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Headers Security Advanced & HSTS WP 90K+ · 4.9★ (79) wp.org #21 12 too low 10 AdRotate Banner Manager 20K+ · 4.3★ (655) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 LLM Bot Tracker – AI Crawler Detection & Analytics 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #1 11 too high 13 Forge AI Bot Log – Block AI Bots, Crawler Detection & Verification 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 11 too high 14 atec 404 Tracker 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 ConvertNow Analytics: Website Stats, Visitor Statistics, AI Traffic and Bot Filtering 70+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #23 ↓1 8 too low 16 DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 1 too high 17 Hack The SEO – MCP Server for Claude, AI Bot Tracker, llms.txt, GEO Score & Cannibalization 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓4 4 too high 18 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↑2 4 too low 19 GoVISIBLE AI Bot Tracker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 8 too high 20 Codersly Visitor Tracker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too high 21 Azayem Bots Tracker – Bot Visits Logger 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 Webwall QR Campaign Tracker 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Live Traffic Analytics – Real-Time Visitor & Bot Tracking – Google Analytics Alternative 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 BotObservatory – Live Bot Tracker & Anti-Scraper — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.