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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “floating 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 “floating ads”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Init Ad Engine – Flexible, Multi-Format, Secure shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 70+ 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

Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups places #10 on merit, 4.9★ from 701 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 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #4 ↑2 1 too low 4 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #6 ↑3 2 too low 5 WP Sticky Sidebar – Floating Sidebar On Scroll for Any Theme 10K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #5 6 WP Chat App 100K+ · 4.9★ (222) wp.org #8 2 too low 7 Sticky Menu & Sticky Header 90K+ · 4.7★ (763) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Corner Ad 300+ · 4.7★ (32) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Floating Ads Bottom 2K+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #3 ↑1 6 too high 10 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #22 ↑2 12 too low 11 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 Call Now Button – The Free Click to Call Button for WordPress 200K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #15 ↑2 2 too low 14 Joinchat – Enhanced “click to chat” 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #16 ↓4 2 too low 15 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #11 ↑5 4 too high 16 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #18 ↑3 2 too low 17 Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↑2 8 too high 18 Create 6K+ · 4.3★ (25) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 AdX Ad Inserter – Adsense and Ad Manager Ads 80+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too high 20 Meta for WooCommerce 400K+ · 2.1★ (481) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 AdPresso – The Modern Ad Manager for AdSense, Banners & Ad Tracking 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too high 22 Add Tiktok Pixel for Tiktok ads (+Woocommerce) 2K+ · 3.0★ (11) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Init Ad Engine – Flexible, Multi-Format, Secure 70+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 ↑1 10 too high 24 W Wbcom Designs – WB Ad Manager 300+ · 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.