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

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 posts”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 7 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

VK Link Target Controller shows at wp.org #11 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 30K+ 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

Simple Custom Post Order places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 588 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #1 ↑1 2

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #2 ↓1 3

Duplicate Post 300K+ · 4.9★ (1623) wp.org #3 4

Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #4 5

Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #5 6

Recent Posts Widget With Thumbnails 100K+ · 4.8★ (215) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 P Posts 2 Posts 9K+ · 4.8★ (101) wp.org #8 9

Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #6 3 too high 10

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7520) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too low 11

Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #10 1 too high 12

Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #18 6 too low 13

Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151) wp.org #13 14

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16

Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #12 5 too high 18

SchedulePress – Auto Post & Publish, Auto Social Share, Schedule Posts with Editorial Calendar & Missed Schedule Post Publisher 10K+ · 4.6★ (201) wp.org #22 ↓2 4 too low 19

Category Posts Block 40K+ · 4.5★ (79) wp.org #17 2 too high 20

Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153) wp.org #23 ↓1 3 too low 21

Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #19 2 too high 22

Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #16 6 too high 23

Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) thin reviews wp.org #20 ↓1 3 too high 24

VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) thin reviews wp.org #11 13 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.