wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cdn analytics”

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 “cdn analytics”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 of the top 20. 5 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

Rankology SEO and Analytics Tool shows at wp.org #14 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN places #6 on merit, 4.7★ from 1488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #3 4

SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 2 too low 5

BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too high 6

Hummingbird Performance – Cache & Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals | Critical CSS | Minify CSS | Defer CSS Javascript | CDN 70K+ · 4.7★ (1488) wp.org #12 ↓2 6 too low 7

CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8

WP Super Cache 1M+ · 4.3★ (1346) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9

Connect Matomo – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 60K+ · 4.5★ (95) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10

ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) throws errorsnot PHP-current low rating, top placement wp.org #5 ↓1 5 too high 11

xSpeed Cache: AI-Powered Performance Hub with MCP, Caching & CDN 10K+ · 5.0★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #9 2 too high 12

Fathom Analytics for WP 10K+ · 4.8★ (25) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13

VigIA – AI Visibility, Analytics & Control 2K+ · 5.0★ (19) thin reviews wp.org #11 2 too high 14

AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 ↓2 6 too low 15

BerqWP – All-In-One Optimization for Core Web Vitals, Cache, CDN, Images, CSS & JavaScript 4K+ · 4.3★ (54) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16

Cloudinary – Deliver Images and Videos at Scale 5K+ · 4.0★ (64) wp.org #18 ↓1 2 too low 17

True Lazy Analytics 5K+ · 4.7★ (11) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓3 2 too low 18

SmartVideo – Video Player and CDN 1K+ · 4.1★ (19) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19

ConvertNow Analytics: Website Stats, Visitor Statistics, AI Traffic and Bot Filtering 70+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20

ImageEngine – Optimize the Images on Your WordPress Site Like No Other Plugin 60+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓2 3 too low 21

Hitsteps Web Analytics 700+ · 3.9★ (7) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 1 too low 22

ZenMarkup Privacy Analytics 20+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #24 2 too low 23

Rankology SEO and Analytics Tool 300+ · 0.0★ (0) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #14 ↓3 9 too high 24

Live Traffic Analytics – Real-Time Visitor & Bot Tracking – Google Analytics Alternative 60+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓2 7 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.