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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “cpm”

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 “cpm”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 of the top 20. 5 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

Reddit for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 90K+ 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 CP Media Player – Audio Player and Video Player 3K+ · 4.4★ (46) wp.org #1 2 Vuukle – Comments, Reactions, Quizzes, Share Bar & Ad Revenue 200+ · 4.1★ (35) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 AdX Ad Inserter – Adsense and Ad Manager Ads 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #3 4 CodePeople Post Map for Google Maps 3K+ · 4.2★ (31) wp.org #13 ↓1 9 too low 5 Evadav 10+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #23 ↓1 18 too low 6 Actirise – Advertising & Monetization 200+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #17 ↓1 11 too low 7 The Moneytizer 1K+ · 3.8★ (42) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too low 8 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #20 ↓1 12 too low 9 WP Adsterra Dashboard 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 7 too high 10 Paid Videochat Turnkey Site – HTML5 PPV Live Webcams 10+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #19 ↓1 9 too low 11 W Wbcom Designs – WB Ad Manager 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 RavyCode Typing Speed Test 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 5 too high 13 fraew Custom Adverts 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 Monetag Official Plugin 5K+ · 2.5★ (13) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too low 15 TradeTracker Connect 200+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 9 too high 16 Inlay — Native Ad Monetisation 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 AttentIQ — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 CODEC Sponsored Content 10+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 Clever Advertising Network Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 7 too high 20 Public Good 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Reddit for WooCommerce 90K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 11 too high 22 Daily Fortune Telling Cards 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too high 23 Weekly Fortune Telling Cards 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too high 24 Utmatra – UTM Attribution and Tracking — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1

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.