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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “g meta keywords”

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 “g meta keywords”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 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

King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder shows at wp.org #3 but places #9 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 194 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Spotlight Social Feeds – Block, Shortcode, and Widget 60K+ · 4.7★ (171) wp.org #1 2 BetterDocs – AI Documentation, Knowledge Base, MCP Server, Docs, Wikis, FAQ & Chatbot 30K+ · 4.8★ (513) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Analytify – Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Google Analytics 4) 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #7 ↑3 4 too low 4 Greenshift – animation and page builder blocks 70K+ · 4.8★ (107) wp.org #4 5 Ultimate Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Under Construction – Gutenberg Block Builder & Landing Page 9K+ · 4.5★ (6) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 N NewStatPress 8K+ · 4.7★ (84) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #14 7 too low 8 Rocketship SEO 10+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 King Addons for Elementor – 100+ Elementor Widgets, 4 000+ Elementor Templates, WooCommerce Builder, Mega Menu, Popup Builder 10K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 6 too high 10 Blockenberg — 600+ Advanced Gutenberg Blocks & AI Agent for WordPress Block Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 4 too high 11 FrontBlocks Site Tools 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 G Meta Keywords 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #22 10 too low 13 Pastmark – Activity Log, User Activity & Audit Trail — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 Unseat Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 SAM Optirank — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Supan SEO – AI SEO Score, FAQ Schema & llms.txt — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 AreaIntelig Lite — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too high 18 Onlinefotka Parcel Shipping with GLS for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 iAmAI Connector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too high 20 GoFactoX E-Invoicing for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 4WP SEO Helper — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 22 RSS Retriever Lite 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 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.