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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “heading generator”

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 “heading generator”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 16 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

Copy Link to Heading – Easily add Anchor links for Headings shows at wp.org #8 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 1916 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 wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Kaya QR Code Generator 10K+ · 4.4★ (38) wp.org #2 3 Companion Sitemap Generator – Simple, Smart, and SEO-Ready 6K+ · 4.7★ (55) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #10 6 too low 5 Smart Slider 3 800K+ · 4.9★ (1125) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #14 8 too low 7 LLMs.txt and LLMs-Full.txt Generator 4K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #3 4 too high 8 Serial Codes Generator and Validator with WooCommerce Support 700+ · 4.6★ (13) wp.org #5 3 too high 9 Contact Form Generator : Creative form builder for WordPress 700+ · 4.4★ (67) wp.org #6 3 too high 10 TermsFeed AutoTerms: Privacy Policy Generator, Cookie Consent, GDPR, CCPA, Terms & Conditions, Disclaimers, Cookies Policy, EULA 70K+ · 4.7★ (246) wp.org #16 ↑1 6 too low 11 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 ↑7 6 too low 12 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #19 7 too low 13 SureForms – Contact Form Builder, AI Forms, Payment Form, Survey & Quiz 500K+ · 4.8★ (102) wp.org #20 ↓4 7 too low 14 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #23 ↓2 9 too low 15 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 BotWriter – AI Writer & SEO Content Generator 1K+ · 4.4★ (16) wp.org #12 4 too high 17 Security Header Generator 400+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #7 10 too high 18 AI Auto Post & Image Generator 200+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #11 7 too high 19 AI WP Writer – SEO content generator, chatGPT, Gemini, Claude 3K+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 PDF Generator for WordPress Elementor 1K+ · 3.6★ (23) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 ImgSEO – AI Image Alt Text Generator & Image SEO Tools 400+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Copy Link to Heading – Easily add Anchor links for Headings 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 14 too high 23 LLMagnet – AI Visibility & AI SEO for Claude, ChatGPT & More 500+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Digital Warranty Card Generator 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 2 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.