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← Rankings

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

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 “keyword”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Auto Focus Keyword for SEO shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 517 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 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #6 ↓2 1 too low 6 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too low 7 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 too low 9 Keyword Research Tool 700+ · 4.9★ (7) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 too high 10 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #8 ↑3 3 too high 12 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #13 1 too low 13 Ajax Search Lite – Live Search & Filter 70K+ · 4.8★ (266) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #19 5 too low 15 W WP Photo Album Plus 10K+ · 4.7★ (199) wp.org #17 ↑2 2 too low 16 WP Dynamic Keywords Injector 1K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #9 ↓1 7 too high 17 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #21 ↓5 4 too low 18 Auto Focus Keyword for SEO 2K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #5 ↑1 13 too high 19 Meta Keywords for Each Page 1K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 9 too high 20 T Tags to Keywords 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 9 too high 21 Smart Keywords Tool – 智能关键词插件 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Darkstar Keyword Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 ↑1 2 too high 23 Auto SEO META keywords (META tags keywords) optimization + WooCommerce 500+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #15 ↓1 8 too high 24 Eatransform Auto Keyword Linker 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 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.