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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google plus 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 plus author”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20. 2 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.

W

Ranked above its merit

WP Google Authorship shows at wp.org #14 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 200+ 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

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #3 4 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #4 ↑2 5 Molongui Authorship – Author Boxes, Guest Authors & Co-Authors for WordPress 10K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #5 6 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 WPForms – AI Form Builder for WordPress – Contact Forms, Payment Forms, Survey Form, Quiz & More 5M+ · 4.8★ (14387) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #8 ↓4 2 too high 11 Login for Google Apps by WPAuth 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too high 12 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #17 ↑1 5 too low 13 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #23 ↓8 10 too low 14 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #19 ↓9 5 too low 15 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too high 17 WP-Optimize – Cache, Compress images, Minify & Clean database to boost page speed & performance 1M+ · 4.8★ (2617) wp.org #22 ↓8 5 too low 18 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #18 ↑6 19 CSV Importer Plus for ACF 400+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #21 ↓5 1 too low 21 FormsDB – Save Elementor Forms to Google Sheets & Post Type 20K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 About Author 200+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓2 7 too high 23 Lightweight Google Analytics 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↑1 7 too high 24 W WP Google Authorship 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓2 10 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.