wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “inline auto link”

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 “inline auto link”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

Broken Link Notifier shows at wp.org #8 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.8★ average from 14 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

LiteSpeed Cache places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 2778 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 signals wp.org

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3

WP2Social Auto Publish 9K+ · 4.8★ (640) wp.org #4 1 too low 4

WP Twitter Auto Publish 3K+ · 4.9★ (206) wp.org #5 1 too low 5

Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) not PHP-current wp.org #3 2 too high 6

Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #6 7

Social Media Auto Publish 5K+ · 4.7★ (345) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #7 ↑1 8

SVG Support 1M+ · 4.8★ (356) wp.org #10 2 too low 9

Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10

LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #15 ↓2 5 too low 11

Auto Image Attributes From Filename With Bulk Updater (Add Alt Text, Image Title For Image SEO) 100K+ · 4.8★ (93) wp.org #11 ↑1 12

Auto Hide Admin Bar 3K+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #9 ↑2 3 too high 13

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #14 ↓7 1 too low 14

Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #17 3 too low 15

Social Media Auto Poster – Schedule & Publish to Buffer 7K+ · 4.5★ (125) wp.org #16 ↓2 1 too low 16

Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑1 8 too high 17

Campos Checkout Brasileiro para WooCommerce 5K+ · 4.9★ (45) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #12 5 too high 18

AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ · 4.7★ (120) wp.org #24 6 too low 19

Shipping Simulator for WooCommerce 6K+ · 5.0★ (40) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #18 ↑6 1 too high 20

Bit Social – Social Media Auto Poster and Scheduler 6K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #23 ↓3 3 too low 21

Linguator – AI Auto Translate & Create Multilingual Sites 3K+ · 4.6★ (20) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #20 1 too high 22

Inline Tweet Sharer – Twitter Sharing Plugin 300+ · 5.0★ (11) not PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #21 ↓3 1 too high 23

AI Auto Post & Image Generator 200+ · 4.8★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #22 ↓3 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.