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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “iab”

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 “iab”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

UniConsent Cookie Consent CMP – Consent Manager shows at wp.org #11 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.7★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 399 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #1 2 CookieYes – Cookie Banner for Cookie Consent (Easy to setup GDPR/CCPA Compliant Cookie Notice) 1M+ · 4.8★ (3236) wp.org #2 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #5 ↑18 2 too low 4 WPConsent – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for Privacy Compliance (GDPR / CCPA / EU Compliance Cookie Notice) 200K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #4 5 FAZ Cookie Manager 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #8 ↑2 2 too low 7 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #9 ↓2 2 too low 8 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #15 ↑6 7 too low 9 My Agile Privacy® – CMP, Cookie Consent & Privacy Tools 7K+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too high 10 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #6 ↓1 4 too high 11 Termly – GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 80K+ · 3.6★ (204) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 WPLP Cookie Consent – Cookie Banner & Consent Management for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 9K+ · 4.6★ (51) wp.org #10 ↓2 2 too high 13 Ads.txt & App-ads.txt Manager for WordPress 2K+ · 4.8★ (48) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 PowerPress Podcasting plugin by Blubrry 20K+ · 4.6★ (231) wp.org #20 ↓1 6 too low 15 Smart Coupons For WooCommerce Coupons 30K+ · 4.7★ (133) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too low 16 Seers AI | Cookie Consent Banner – GDPR & CCPA Compliant Consent Management Platform 1K+ · 4.7★ (52) wp.org #23 ↓3 7 too low 17 Lawwwing | Textos legales web y Banner de cookies 700+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #16 ↓3 1 too high 18 Civic Cookie Control 2K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #14 ↑3 4 too high 19 UniConsent Cookie Consent CMP – Consent Manager 2K+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20 AdFlow – Ad Inserter & Ad Manager: AdSense, Banner Ads & ads.txt 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 ↓2 4 too low 21 consentmanager Cookie Banner 5K+ · 2.6★ (10) wp.org #21 ↓5 22 FlexyConsent – Cookie Consent Management (GDPR, CCPA, IAB TCF) 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Snack Ads.txt 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓4 5 too high 24 LegalWeb Cloud 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓4 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.