wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “content 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 “content link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content shows at wp.org #9 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 60 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 7520 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.
Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605)
wp.org #1 ↑1 2 
PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322)
wp.org #2 ↓1 3 
Pods – Custom Content Types and Fields 100K+ · 4.8★ (418)
wp.org #3 ↑1 4 
Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97)
wp.org #4 ↓1 5 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #7 2 too low 6 
Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187)
wp.org #6 ↑2 7 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520)
wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too low 8 
WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1139)
wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 
Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87)
wp.org #5 4 too high 10 
Content Control – The Ultimate Content Restriction Solution! Restrict Content, Create Conditional Blocks & More 40K+ · 4.9★ (575)
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 
Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151)
wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too high 12 
Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445)
wp.org #14 ↓4 2 too low 13 
SSL Insecure Content Fixer 100K+ · 4.8★ (221)
wp.org #15 2 too low 14 
Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322)
wp.org #19 ↓2 5 too low 15 Passster – Password Protect Pages and Content 10K+ · 4.2★ (60)
wp.org #9 ↓3 6 too high 16 
Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36)
wp.org #10 ↑2 6 too high 17 
Paid Membership Subscriptions – Effortless Memberships, Recurring Payments & Content Restriction 10K+ · 4.7★ (270)
wp.org #23 6 too low 18 
Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33)
wp.org #16 2 too high 19 
Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62)
wp.org #17 ↑1 2 too high 20 
Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121)
wp.org #24 4 too low 21 
MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31)
wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too low 22 
Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 
Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #21 ↑3 2 too high 24 
VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews
wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.