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

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 “ezoic”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Ads.txt Manager shows at wp.org #4 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. 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 100K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Ezoic 10K+ · 3.3★ (53) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Easy Google Adsense and Banner Ads Manager – AdsforWP 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) wp.org #3 4 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5008) wp.org #9 5 too low 5 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 70K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #18 13 too low 6 NitroPack – Performance, Page Speed & Cache Plugin for Core Web Vitals, CDN & Image Optimization 90K+ · 4.3★ (311) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #7 8 GeoTargeting Lite – WordPress Geolocation 1K+ · 3.9★ (32) wp.org #15 7 too low 9 AdPresso – The Modern Ad Manager for AdSense, Banners & Ad Tracking 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 Affiliate Sales in Google Analytics and other tools 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #17 7 too low 11 Writio 100+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #11 12 Advanced Ads for WPBakery Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Ads.txt Manager 3K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #4 9 too high 14 Truce Label Ads — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 4 too high 15 NudgeAI — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 3 too high 16 Parasol — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Emote for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 9 too high 18 Open.Video 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 1 too low 19 PurpleAds Ad Network 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 xpay✦ Agentic Commerce for Publishers — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20

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.