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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “display ads”

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 “display ads”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

In-feed ads for Google AdSense shows at wp.org #9 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 6K+ 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.

Buried gem

WP Chat App places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 222 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #1 2 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #2 3 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #16 8 too low 9 Conditionally display featured image on singular posts and pages 30K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #4 ↓1 7 too high 12 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 Easy Google Adsense and Banner Ads Manager – AdsforWP 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) wp.org #11 ↑1 3 too high 15 Corner Ad 300+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Hafenstudios Ads – Ad Manager, AdSense & Banner Ads 100+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Ads.txt & App-ads.txt Manager for WordPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #19 ↓1 2 too low 18 Conversios – GA4, Google Ads & Meta Conversion Tracking with Product Feed for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.3★ (206) wp.org #24 ↓1 6 too low 19 AdFlow – Ad Inserter & Ad Manager: AdSense, Banner Ads & ads.txt 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 FlatPM – Ad Manager, AdSense and Custom Code 10K+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #21 ↓2 1 too low 21 Ad Commander – Ad Manager for Banners, AdSense, Ad Networks 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 Ads for Genesis 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 10 too high 23 In-feed ads for Google AdSense 6K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 14 too high 24 Ad Auto Insert H 900+ · 5.0★ (1) 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.