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

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

Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 100+ 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

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Essential Addons for Elementor – Popular Elementor Templates & Widgets 1M+ · 4.9★ (4132) wp.org #1 2 WP Content Copy Protection & No Right Click 100K+ · 4.8★ (1138) wp.org #2 3 CM Tooltip Glossary 7K+ · 4.3★ (157) wp.org #3 4 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 ElementsKit Elementor Addons – Advanced Widgets & Templates Addons for Elementor 1M+ · 4.9★ (2051) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #10 ↑1 3 too low 8 Tooltipy (tooltips for WP) 1K+ · 4.6★ (68) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce 300K+ · 4.8★ (926) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #22 ↑1 12 too low 11 T Tooltips for WordPress 5K+ · 3.8★ (75) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #14 ↑1 2 too low 13 Glossary 2K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #20 ↓2 7 too low 14 Variation Swatches for WooCommerce – Color, Image & Size Swatches 200K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #17 ↑2 3 too low 15 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #24 ↓14 9 too low 16 WP Wiki Tooltip 200+ · 4.8★ (18) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too low 17 CM Search And Replace – Optimize content edits with a powerful search and replace tool 2K+ · 4.2★ (15) wp.org #16 ↑1 1 too high 18 IZ Block Editor Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑2 1 too low 19 Tooltip for Gravity Forms 800+ · 4.0★ (10) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too low 20 Glossary Tooltip – Highlight Terms & Show Tooltips 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Magic Tooltips For Contact Form 7 600+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↑1 10 too high 22 ToolTips For Contact Form 7 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↑1 9 too high 23 Reference Manager for WordPress with Footnotes, Citations, Bibliographies, Tooltips and Glossary 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↑1 24 I Inline Tooltips 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 9 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.