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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “click tracking”

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 “click tracking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 200+ 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

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (353) wp.org #1 2 Click to Chat – HoliThemes 600K+ · 4.8★ (131) wp.org #2 3 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (536) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1318) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (398) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – The Most Popular SMTP and Email Log Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (5202) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Track The Click 7K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #8 9 Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5217) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #10 2 too high 13 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3151) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 YaySMTP – WP Mail SMTP with Email Logs, Tracking & Reports 10K+ · 4.9★ (45) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 WPZOOM Connect: AI Chat, Click to Chat, Social Icons & Share Buttons 90K+ · 4.9★ (144) wp.org #24 7 too low 18 Jetpack – WP Security, Backup, Speed, & Growth 3M+ · 3.7★ (2407) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 ShortLinks Pro – Affiliate Links, Link Shortening, Click Tracking & Marketing 100+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Tracking Script Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (7) wp.org #19 1 too high 21 CallRail Phone Call Tracking 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #21 22 Click Counter and Heat Maps (Free) 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 11 too high 23 WhatsLink Click Tracker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 Smart Click Tracker 300+ · 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.