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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content decay”

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 “content decay”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Seotune Search Insights shows at wp.org #17 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 10+ 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 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 SEO Booster 800+ · 4.8★ (54) wp.org #2 3 Internet Archive Wayback Machine Link Fixer 1K+ · 3.8★ (8) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #9 ↓2 5 too low 5 Smart Decay Copilot by Content Refresher — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Atlant Security 700+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 16 too low 7 DominoPost – Advanced Post Editor with AI Writer, Link Building Suite, Free Google Search Console & GA4 Analytics 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Namdar Content Decay Checker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 RepublishAI – WordPress SEO Plugin that Grows Organic Traffic on Autopilot 50+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #7 ↑3 2 too high 10 SEO Fury – SEO & GEO: Schema, XML Sitemap, Redirects, 404 Monitor, llms.txt 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 N.C Decay Scanner — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 3 too high 12 RefreshRank – Content Decay Detection & AI Refresh — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Stalemender – Content Audit, Stale Post Finder & Content Decay Report — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Tidy SEO AI Refresh – Content Decay & Freshness Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 CitedSEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 TrackSure Cloud – Server-Side Tracking, Meta CAPI & GA4 for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 Content Performance Analyzer – GA4 & Search Console Content Audit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 WordAI 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 Shakvaro Content Engine — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 20 Stedica SEO 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑1 21 Content Freshness Monitor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 22 Seotune Search Insights 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 ProRank SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 5 too high 24 INI Protector 20+ · 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.