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

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 “link cloaking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker shows at wp.org #5 but places #15 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense places #5 on merit, 4.9★ from 1463 reviews, but shows at wp.org #10. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1318) wp.org #1 2 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #2 3 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (167) wp.org #8 ↑1 4 too low 5 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 100K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Easy Affiliate Links 7K+ · 4.2★ (34) wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 500+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #7 ↑1 1 too high 9 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Affiliate Sales in Google Analytics and other tools 1K+ · 4.8★ (12) wp.org #11 1 too low 11 Lasso Lite (Simple URLs) 4K+ · 3.0★ (46) wp.org #9 ↓3 2 too high 12 C Cloak Affiliate Links for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.3★ (12) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 Coupon Plugin Lite 300+ · 4.8★ (4) wp.org #13 14 WP MyLinks 1K+ · 4.0★ (14) wp.org #16 2 too low 15 Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 10 too high 16 ZDN Adblock Detector 100+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 Coupon & Discount Code Reveal Button 1K+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #20 3 too low 18 PublishPress Shortlinks – The Link Manager for WordPress 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 AffiStyle – Affiliate Product Cards & Box Builder — · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #23 ↓1 4 too low 20 LinkMaster – Link Management, SEO, Broken Links & Redirects 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Custom Link Shortener 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 LinkGenius – Affiliate Link Manager and Link Shortener 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Expired Link Redirection – Temporary Link, Keyword Autolink, Page Redirect, 404 Redirect, Link Timer 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓1 1 too low 24 LazyLink — · 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.