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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “branch locator”

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 “branch locator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

PeproDev Branches Map (Mapify) shows at wp.org #15 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 20+ 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 WP Store Locator 40K+ · 4.8★ (312) wp.org #1 2 Agile Store Locator 10K+ · 4.9★ (59) wp.org #2 3 Local SEO By Ankit Rawat 40+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 6 too low 4 MapPin – Location & Store Locator 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 5 Multi Location Product & Inventory Management for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too low 6 MatrixMap – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Store Locator & World Maps 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 WordPress Store Locator AI powered – Elementor – Fast loading – Local SEO — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Kashida Branch Locator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Mema Multi Branch Locator Map — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 PTI Store Locator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Velox Map Locator — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Super Simple Map Embeds – Google Map Plugin for WordPress: WP Maps & Add Google Maps 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 2 too low 13 Location Finder – Store Locator & Resource Directory — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 2 too high 14 StoreLo – Store Locator Widget with Google Maps — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 ByNeural AI Assistant 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 2 too low 16 MapCosmos — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too low 17 Adler Business Directory – Business, Member, Staff & Community Directory — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too low 18 Puzzlelisting – Multi-Location Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 3 too low 19 StoreMap – Store Locator — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 LocatorLTE – Premium Store Locator 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↓1 2 too low 21 PeproDev Branches Map (Mapify) 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 6 too high 22 Multiloca Lite – Multi Location Inventory Management for WooCommerce 80+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 6 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.