wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “issue 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 “issue tracking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20.

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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Alpaca Issue Tracker shows at wp.org #11 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 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 #12 on merit, 4.7★ from 488 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #1 2

Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #2 3

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #5 2 too low 4

CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (538) wp.org #4 5

Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #3 2 too high 6

WP Mail SMTP by WPForms – SMTP for Reliable Email Delivery with Gmail, Outlook, Amazon SES, Brevo, Other SMTP & More 4M+ · 4.8★ (5209) wp.org #9 3 too low 7

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #10 ↓2 3 too low 8

Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #6 2 too high 9

Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #7 2 too high 10

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #13 3 too low 11

All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #15 ↓3 4 too low 12

Analytify – Google Analytics 4 Tracking and Reporting in WordPress 20K+ · 4.7★ (488) wp.org #20 8 too low 13

WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too low 14

Post SMTP – Complete Email Delivery and SMTP Solution with Email Logs, Alerts, Backup SMTP & Mobile App 300K+ · 4.7★ (528) wp.org #24 ↓1 10 too low 15

Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #22 7 too low 16

Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce 20K+ · 3.0★ (24) thin reviews wp.org #8 ↑2 8 too high 17

YITH WooCommerce Order & Shipment Tracking 7K+ · 3.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #12 ↑2 5 too high 18

Project Management, Bug and Issue Tracking Plugin – Software Issue Manager 20+ · 4.2★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #16 2 too high 19

User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #21 2 too low 20

Alpaca Issue Tracker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) thin reviews wp.org #11 9 too high 21

Tracking Script Manager 2K+ · 4.1★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #14 ↑1 7 too high 22

Portugal CTT Tracking for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews wp.org #18 4 too high 23

Stape Conversion Tracking 10K+ · 5.0★ (4) thin reviews wp.org #23 ↓1 24

CallRail Phone Call Tracking 10K+ · 3.7★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #19 ↓2 5 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.