Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 author”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 3 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

WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars shows at wp.org #6 but places #12 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 10K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 22 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #8 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 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 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 2 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #2 3 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #8 ↑2 3 too low 6 Simple Author Box 90K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #11 12 WP Post Author – Author Box, Multiple Authors, Guest Authors & Custom Avatars 10K+ · 4.2★ (22) wp.org #6 6 too high 13 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #19 ↓1 6 too low 14 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #15 1 too high 17 Login for Google Apps by WPAuth 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #17 18 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 exovia GDPR Google Maps 4K+ · 4.6★ (11) wp.org #18 ↑1 2 too high 21 Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Cool Author Box – For Widget and Post Content 500+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Lightweight Google Analytics 400+ · 5.0★ (2) 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.