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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “ip tracker”

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 “ip tracker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

IP Locator shows at wp.org #3 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 500+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 1267 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #1 2 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #2 ↑4 3 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #5 ↑4 2 too low 4 HandL UTM Grabber / Tracker 10K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #6 ↓2 2 too low 5 Simple Download Monitor 20K+ · 4.7★ (158) wp.org #14 9 too low 6 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #13 ↑5 7 too low 7 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #23 ↓2 16 too low 8 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 too low 9 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #24 ↓5 15 too low 10 Activity Log – Monitor User and Agent Changes 200K+ · 4.3★ (74) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 WP Visitor Statistics (Real Time Traffic) 20K+ · 4.5★ (156) wp.org #19 ↓3 8 too low 12 WebberZone Top 10 — Popular Posts 10K+ · 4.6★ (102) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard & Analytics, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Order Export, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (55) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 User Login History 10K+ · 4.6★ (29) wp.org #15 ↓4 1 too low 15 Analytics Tracker 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↓1 11 too high 16 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 IP Locator 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #3 ↓1 14 too high 18 WhatsLink Click Tracker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↓2 11 too high 19 Smart Click Tracker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓2 10 too high 20 UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 10 too high 22 Codersly Visitor Tracker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓3 4 too high 23 Webwall QR Campaign Tracker 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 LLM Bot Tracker – AI Crawler Detection & Analytics 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓4 7 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.