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← Rankings

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

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

Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

IgnitionDeck Crowdfunding Platform places #6 on merit, 3.7★ from 90 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 wp.org
1 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #1 2 404 to 301 – Redirect Manager, 301 Redirection, 404 Error Logs & 404 Monitoring 100K+ · 4.7★ (321) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 All 404 Redirect to Homepage 200K+ · 4.1★ (96) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Interlinks Manager – Internal Links Optimizer 7K+ · 4.6★ (5) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 IgnitionDeck Crowdfunding Platform 100+ · 3.7★ (90) wp.org #20 ↑1 14 too low 7 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #7 8 DiagnoSEO – Fast and Automated On-page SEO 100+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #18 ↑1 10 too low 9 Leaving Notice Popup For External Links – nofollow, noopener & New Tab 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too low 10 Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #15 5 too low 11 BrightEdge Autopilot 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 AI Internal Links 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↑4 4 too high 13 File Media Renamer for SEO 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too low 14 I Internal Link Visualizer 100+ · 3.7★ (3) wp.org #12 ↓1 2 too high 15 Nofollow External/Outbound Link (SEO) 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 4 too high 16 Relinka – Internal Linking & Orphan Page Finder 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights 50+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 RepublishAI – WordPress SEO Plugin that Grows Organic Traffic on Autopilot 50+ · 4.5★ (2) wp.org #23 5 too low 19 Auto Redirect 404 to Custom URL – 404 Redirect & Error Log 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #16 ↑2 3 too high 20 Daisy Links – open links in new tab, add nofollow attribute, disable right click on links 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓1 1 too low 21 DominoPost – Advanced Post Editor with AI Writer, Link Building Suite, Free Google Search Console & GA4 Analytics 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 FS SEO Internal Link Juicer 70+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #19 ↓2 3 too high 23 Ozi Internal Link Booster — Smart Internal Linking for SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2 1 too low 24 RM Smart Redirects 10+ · 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.