wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “broken link”

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 “broken link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite shows at wp.org #5 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 321 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 2

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #3 ↑1 1 too low 3

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #6 3 too low 4

Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) not PHP-current wp.org #2 2 too high 5

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #4 ↓1 2 too high 7

Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #9 2 too low 8

404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too low 9

Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 2 too high 10

Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #17 ↑1 6 too low 12

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #16 ↓2 4 too low 13

Cyrlitera – Transliteration of Links and File Names 40K+ · 4.6★ (62) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 too low 15

Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #10 5 too high 16

All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17

Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #5 12 too high 18

Link Checker 4K+ · 3.2★ (30) wp.org #11 7 too high 19

Cyr to Lat Reloaded – Transliteration of Links and File Names 30K+ · 4.5★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20

Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #24 4 too low 21

VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22

Remove Broken Images 700+ · 4.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓3 2 too high 23

Codesala Broken Link Fixer 30+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #22 1 too high 24

Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights 50+ · 4.0★ (2) thin reviews 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.