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

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 excerpt”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 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

Mandatory Excerpts for WordPress shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator places #12 on merit, 4.6★ from 361 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 signals wp.org

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 ↓1 1 too low 2

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #1 ↑1 1 too high 3 A Advanced Excerpt 80K+ · 4.3★ (101) wp.org #3 4

Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #4 5

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) not PHP-currentheavy footprint wp.org #8 3 too low 6

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #10 4 too low 7

Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #7 8

Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #14 ↓1 6 too low 9

Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) not PHP-current wp.org #6 3 too high 10

Slider, Gallery, and Carousel by MetaSlider – Image Slider, Video Slider 500K+ · 4.6★ (743) wp.org #19 9 too low 11

RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #23 11 too low 13

Email Address Encoder 100K+ · 4.2★ (160) wp.org #17 ↑4 3 too low 15

Table of Contents Plus – Automatic Table of Contents for Posts & Pages 200K+ · 4.5★ (187) wp.org #21 ↑1 6 too low 16

GenerateBlocks 200K+ · 4.9★ (122) wp.org #22 6 too low 17

We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #18 1 too low 18

Search & Replace Everything – Quick and Easy Way to Find and Replace Text, Links 20K+ · 4.7★ (26) wp.org #15 3 too high 19

Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too high 20

Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #20 21

WPC Smart Quick View for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.9★ (31) throws errorsnot PHP-current wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 S Simply Excerpts 500+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 11 too high 23

AI Smart Excerpt 100+ · 4.5★ (2) throws errorsnot PHP-current thin reviews wp.org #12 11 too high 24

Mandatory Excerpts for WordPress 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #9 15 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.