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

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 business profile”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 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

Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings shows at wp.org #13 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 3K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.2★ average from 10 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 27821 reviews, but shows at wp.org #12. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2

User Profile Builder – Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor 40K+ · 4.7★ (738) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3

Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) not PHP-current wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too high 4

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Business Directory Plugin – Easy Listing & Member Directories for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #10 ↓2 4 too low 7

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #12 5 too low 8

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 ↓1 9

Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 5 too high 10

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓3 4 too high 11

WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #9 2 too high 12

GeoDirectory – WP Business Directory Plugin and Classified Listings Directory 10K+ · 4.8★ (716) heavy footprint wp.org #14 ↓4 2 too low 13

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #24 ↓5 11 too low 14

We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #11 3 too high 15

HivePress – Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (221) wp.org #20 5 too low 16

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #16 ↓5 17

Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) not PHP-current wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19

Classified Listing – AI-Powered Classified ads & Business Directory 9K+ · 4.8★ (138) not PHP-current wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too high 20

Directorist: AI-Powered Business Directory, Listings & Classified Ads 20K+ · 4.6★ (698) not PHP-current wp.org #22 ↓4 2 too low 21

Metricool – Social media and site statistics 90K+ · 4.4★ (22) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23

Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #13 ↑2 10 too high 24

Embedder for Google Reviews 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #15 ↓3 9 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.