Plugin Pulse
← Rankings

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

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 blocking”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Geo Blocker – Control Site Access by Region and IP shows at wp.org #8 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 1K+ 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

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 334 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1658) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (553) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3231) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 iQ Block Country 20K+ · 3.9★ (165) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 IP Location Block 10K+ · 4.5★ (35) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 WorkflowDone Geo Blocker 90+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #1 5 too high 7 Geo Controller 1K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #6 ↓1 1 too high 8 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Joinchat – Enhanced "click to chat" 700K+ · 4.7★ (189) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 FAZ Cookie Manager 2K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (490) wp.org #19 ↓1 8 too low 12 Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall 80K+ · 4.8★ (334) wp.org #23 ↓1 11 too low 13 Advanced IP Blocker 2K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #12 1 too high 14 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too low 15 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Melapress Login Security 3K+ · 4.8★ (19) wp.org #20 4 too low 17 Country Access Blocker 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 7 too high 18 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 ↑1 19 CookieAdmin – Cookie Consent Banner 400K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Geo Targetly Geo Block 20+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑8 5 too high 21 Geo Blocker – Control Site Access by Region and IP 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 13 too high 22 RankReady – AI SEO, Schema, llms.txt, AEO and GEO for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity 400+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 ByTheWeb GEO – AI Visibility & SEO Toolkit 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓4 2 too high 24 RC Geo Access Plugin 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.