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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google ads annotations”

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 “google ads annotations”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Matomo Site Kit shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 30+ 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

PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page places #7 on merit, 4.5★ from 149 reviews, but shows at wp.org #13. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #1 2 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #2 3 EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #4 5 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 PDF Poster – Let visitors read PDF’s without leaving the page 20K+ · 4.5★ (149) wp.org #13 ↓2 6 too low 8 AMP WP – Google AMP For WordPress 600+ · 4.5★ (55) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 GSpeech TTS – WordPress Text To Speech Plugin 3K+ · 4.8★ (178) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 Actirise – Advertising & Monetization 200+ · 5.0★ (13) wp.org #12 ↑1 2 too low 11 Polski for WooCommerce 60+ · 4.8★ (10) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Embeds for YouTube 9K+ · 4.2★ (24) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 CookieBoxs – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent & Google Consent Mode v2 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #6 7 too high 14 Simple Analytics 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 6 too high 15 Wow Elements Addons for Elementor 50+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 ↓2 5 too low 16 Crystal Ball Insights 10+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Ultimate Form – Multi-Step Form Builder, Conversion Analytics & Lead Forms 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 too low 18 Ultimate Classified Listings – Classifieds, Directory & Marketplace 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 1 too high 19 Thumbnail Manager 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 5 too high 20 Matomo Site Kit 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑1 9 too high 21 FWD Video Player 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 SmartSpot Ad Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Conversion Agent Discovery 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 Tranzly™ – AI Translation & Multilingual 7K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↑1 5 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.