Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “external links”

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 “external links”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 4 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

External Links Overview shows at wp.org #8 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin places #10 on merit, 4.6★ from 251 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #1 2 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #5 ↑4 3 too low 3 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #7 ↓1 3 too low 5 No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #4 ↓2 3 too high 8 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #12 ↓1 4 too low 9 EXMAGE – WordPress Image Links 5K+ · 5.0★ (33) wp.org #11 ↑1 2 too low 10 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #21 ↑1 11 too low 11 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too high 12 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 External Product New Tab for WooCommerce 3K+ · 4.8★ (35) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 WPGet API – Connect to any external REST API 10K+ · 5.0★ (32) wp.org #24 10 too low 15 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↓1 10 too high 17 Indicate External Links 600+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #14 3 too high 18 C Cloak Affiliate Links for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #18 19 Improved External Products for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.7★ (26) wp.org #19 20 External Links Overview 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 E External Permalinks Redux 2K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 oEmbed External Video 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #23 24 External Links Manager – Open new window in a new tab + nofollow, noreferrer 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.