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

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 index”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 6 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

Fast Index for Google Indexing API shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.3★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2470 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

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

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #2 ↑2 3

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator 100K+ · 4.7★ (620) wp.org #3 ↓1 4

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 #5 ↓2 1 too low 5

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6

GSheetConnector – CF7 Google Sheets Connector & Save CF7 Entries to Database 40K+ · 4.4★ (129) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 ↑3 2 too high 7

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #14 7 too low 8

Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9

CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62) not PHP-current wp.org #6 ↓1 3 too high 10

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #21 ↓1 11 too low 11

Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) heavy footprint wp.org #10 1 too high 12

Relevanssi – A Better Search 100K+ · 4.8★ (406) wp.org #16 4 too low 13

Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #19 ↓2 6 too low 14

XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #11 3 too high 15

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #23 ↓1 7 too low 17

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #22 ↓1 5 too low 18

Sitemap by BestWebSoft – WordPress XML Site Map Page Generator Plugin 20K+ · 4.3★ (115) wp.org #20 ↓1 2 too low 19

Insights from Google PageSpeed 10K+ · 4.8★ (28) not PHP-current wp.org #12 7 too high 20

ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 2 too high 21

Instant Indexing for Google 200K+ · 3.6★ (36) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22

Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too high 23

SMNTCS Google Webmaster Tools 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #15 8 too high 24

Fast Index for Google Indexing API 300+ · 3.3★ (3) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #9 15 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.