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

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 tracking”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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

Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress places #8 on merit, 4.7★ from 488 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 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #3 4 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too low 6 Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ · 4.8★ (1488) wp.org #10 ↓1 4 too low 7 All-In-One Security (AIOS) – Security and Firewall 1M+ · 4.7★ (1720) wp.org #13 ↓1 6 too low 8 Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #15 ↑1 7 too low 9 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #16 ↑2 6 too low 11 I IP Based Login 600+ · 4.9★ (23) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too low 13 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #19 6 too low 14 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #20 ↑4 6 too low 15 Simple CAPTCHA with Cloudflare Turnstile 200K+ · 4.7★ (262) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 CP Referrer and Conversion Tracking 300+ · 4.7★ (12) wp.org #14 ↑1 4 too high 19 Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce 20K+ · 3.0★ (24) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Search Analytics for WP – Site Search Tracking 3K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑1 9 too high 22 Tracking and Consent Manager – WP Full Picture 3K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 too low 23 CallRail Phone Call Tracking 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) wp.org #11 ↓1 12 too high 24 CallTrackingMetrics 3K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #22 ↓1 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.