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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “consent based advertising”

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 “consent based advertising”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

WP Consent API shows at wp.org #1 but places #11 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Cookie Compliance for WordPress – Cookie Consent, GDPR & CCPA 800K+ · 4.8★ (3026) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 iubenda | All-in-one Compliance for GDPR / CCPA Cookie Consent + more 200K+ · 4.7★ (397) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #11 ↑6 6 too low 6 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #6 7 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #20 12 too low 9 Kansleri Cookie Consent 1K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 SureCookie – GDPR Cookie Consent Banner, Cookie Scanner & Script Blocking 70K+ · 4.9★ (21) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 10 too high 12 Product Feed for Google Shopping, Microsoft Advertising and 40+ Channels for WooCommerce Merchant 2K+ · 4.8★ (87) wp.org #12 ↓2 13 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 ↓1 4 too low 16 Tracking and Consent Manager – WP Full Picture 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #16 ↓3 17 Actirise – Advertising & Monetization 200+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #18 ↑2 1 too low 18 CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑2 9 too high 19 Cookiez – GDPR & CCPA Cookie Banner & Consent Manager 50K+ · 4.3★ (4) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20 Cookie Information – Cookie Banner with Consent Mode v2 2K+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #10 ↑2 10 too high 21 MaxtDesign Cookie Consent – Google Consent Mode v2 70+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too high 22 consentmanager Cookie Banner 5K+ · 2.6★ (10) wp.org #22 23 Kukie – Cookie Consent & Privacy Banner (GDPR, CCPA, DSGVO) 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 2 too high 24 CookieRay – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (GDPR/CCPA Compliant) 1K+ · 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.