wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “google 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 profile”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Embedder for Google Reviews shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 6K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 7 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 #11 on merit, 4.8★ from 27820 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 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 #2 3

Rich Showcase for Google Reviews 100K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 4

Ultimate Member – User Profile, Registration, Login, Member Directory, Content Restriction & Membership Plugin 200K+ · 4.4★ (1445) wp.org #4 5

Post to Google My Business (Google Business Profile) 10K+ · 4.9★ (159) wp.org #6 1 too low 6

WP Google Review Slider 30K+ · 4.9★ (373) wp.org #8 2 too low 7

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #10 3 too low 8

Five Star Business Profile and Schema 7K+ · 4.8★ (52) wp.org #5 3 too high 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 #11 2 too low 10

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #15 5 too low 11

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #17 6 too low 12

Google Authenticator 20K+ · 4.3★ (135) wp.org #12 1 too high 14

Reviews and Rating – Google Reviews 20K+ · 4.9★ (184) wp.org #16 2 too low 15

reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #13 2 too high 16

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

Lara's Google Analytics (GA4) 8K+ · 4.7★ (122) wp.org #14 3 too high 18

ProfileGrid – User Profiles, Groups and Communities 5K+ · 4.6★ (236) wp.org #18 1 too high 20

Embedder for Google Reviews 6K+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #7 13 too high 21

One Tap Google Sign in 800+ · 4.7★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #24 3 too low 22

Embed Google Photos album 3K+ · 4.4★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #21 1 too high 23

Beehive Analytics – Google Analytics Dashboard 20K+ · 4.5★ (13) thin reviews wp.org #23 24

Widgets for Google Reviews and Ratings 3K+ · 4.2★ (10) thin reviews wp.org #19 5 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.