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

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 video”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 3 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.

Ranked above its merit

Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google shows at wp.org #11 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 5 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.7★ average from 47 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Widgets for Google Reviews 1M+ · 4.9★ (2667) wp.org #1 2 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #2 3 XML Sitemap Generator for Google 1M+ · 4.8★ (2233) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #7 ↓2 1 too low 7 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 Modula Image Gallery – Photo Grid & Video Gallery 100K+ · 4.7★ (616) wp.org #8 9 Easy Google Maps by Supsystic – Custom Markers, Clustering & Map Themes 20K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #9 ↑7 10 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too low 11 HTML5 Video Player – embed fast, responsive videos with ease 20K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #10 ↑2 1 too high 12 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too low 14 FooGallery Photo Gallery : Image, Video & Masonry Galleries 100K+ · 4.8★ (995) wp.org #16 ↓5 2 too low 15 reCaptcha by BestWebSoft 100K+ · 3.9★ (391) wp.org #14 ↓4 1 too high 16 Dynamic XML Sitemaps Generator for Google 20K+ · 4.7★ (47) wp.org #11 ↓2 5 too high 17 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #18 ↑1 1 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) wp.org #21 ↓6 3 too low 19 Simple Calendar – Google Calendar Plugin 50K+ · 3.8★ (397) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Video Popup – Video Lightbox for YouTube, Vimeo & MP4 10K+ · 4.5★ (43) wp.org #17 3 too high 21 Image and video gallery from Google Drive 4K+ · 4.3★ (39) wp.org #24 ↓3 3 too low 22 ExactMetrics – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Plugin) 200K+ · 2.5★ (1546) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 Video Player Block – play videos beautifully on any device 2K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 APG Google Video Sitemap Feed 500+ · 2.8★ (9) wp.org #20 ↑4 4 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.