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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “geo block”

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 “geo block”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20.

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

WorkflowDone Geo Blocker shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 100+ 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

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 334 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 MapGeo – Interactive Geo Maps 30K+ · 4.4★ (65) wp.org #3 4 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1668) wp.org #5 ↑2 1 too low 5 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #7 ↓3 2 too low 6 iQ Block Country 20K+ · 3.9★ (166) wp.org #4 ↑1 2 too high 7 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #18 9 too low 10 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #10 ↑3 11 Geo Controller – Geolocation & Geotargeting 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #12 ↓2 1 too low 12 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #19 ↓4 7 too low 13 Visibility – Lightweight SEO, AEO and GEO for Search and AI 600+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #8 ↑1 5 too high 14 WorkflowDone Geo Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 Country Block – Ultimate Geo-Blocker, IP Ban & Login Security 100+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #11 ↓3 4 too high 16 Out of the Block: OpenStreetMap 800+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓3 6 too low 17 Geo Targetly Geo Block 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓2 4 too high 18 GEO Suite – AI SEO, llms.txt & Schema – Octoplug 60+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too high 19 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 500+ · 4.8★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓8 5 too low 20 Crowdsignal Forms 200K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 Geo Blocker – Control Site Access by Region and IP 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 7 too high 22 DevDome Country Blocker: Geo Blocking, GeoIP Block 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 ↑4 2 too high 23 MatrixMap – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Store Locator & World Maps 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 7 too high 24 ByTheWeb GEO – AI Visibility & SEO Toolkit 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 ↓3 1 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.