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

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 groups”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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 Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings shows at wp.org #12 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 7 places. Its 60K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.3★ average from 122 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 14387 reviews, but shows at wp.org #14. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 2

XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #2 3

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #3 1 too high 5

Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6

Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #6 ↑1 7

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) not PHP-current wp.org #5 2 too high 8

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #8 9

WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

Better Messages – Chat Rooms, Group Chat, Private Messages & AI Chat Bots 10K+ · 4.8★ (142) wp.org #11 12

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #10 2 too high 13

W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #18 4 too low 15

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) not PHP-current wp.org #19 4 too low 16

Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) not PHP-current wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #23 6 too low 18

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 #22 ↓1 4 too low 19

WP Maps – Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, Store Locator with Search, Filters & Listings 60K+ · 4.3★ (122) throws errorsnot PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #12 7 too high 20

Product Feed for Google Shopping, Microsoft Advertising and 40+ Channels for WooCommerce Merchant 2K+ · 4.8★ (87) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #20 21

Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #21 ↑1 22

Swap Google Fonts Display: Improve Font Rendering & Performance 10K+ · 4.4★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #16 6 too high 23

Goolytics – Simple Google Analytics 3K+ · 5.0★ (8) thin reviews wp.org #17 6 too high 24

Lightweight Google Analytics 400+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews 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.