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

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 replacement”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log shows at wp.org #9 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 200K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 2.5★ average from 17 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Search Regex places #9 on merit, 4.7★ from 101 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. 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 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #2 3 Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) 200K+ · 5.0★ (423) wp.org #8 ↓1 5 too low 4 M MimeTypes Link Icons 8K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #4 5 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Easy Affiliate Links 6K+ · 4.2★ (34) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #17 ↓1 10 too low 8 Better Find and Replace – AI-Powered Suggestions 40K+ · 4.6★ (171) wp.org #15 ↓3 7 too low 9 Search Regex 100K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #21 ↓1 12 too low 10 HTML Forms – Simple WordPress Forms Plugin 10K+ · 4.9★ (57) wp.org #20 ↓3 10 too low 11 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 We’re Open! 5K+ · 5.0★ (45) wp.org #18 6 too low 13 White Label – WordPress Custom Admin, Custom Login Page, and Custom Dashboard 10K+ · 5.0★ (21) wp.org #16 ↓3 3 too low 14 Say What? 40K+ · 4.3★ (92) wp.org #23 ↓2 9 too low 15 Magic Login – Magic Link & Passwordless Authentication for WordPress – Login Without Password 3K+ · 4.8★ (26) wp.org #19 4 too low 16 Icegram Mailer – Reliable Email Deliverability, No-Code SMTP Replacement & Email Logs for WordPress 2K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↑3 11 too high 18 GT Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↓1 11 too high 19 Search & Replace Everything by WPCode – Find and Replace Media, Text, Links, and More 20K+ · 3.9★ (7) wp.org #10 ↓2 9 too high 20 Ethereal Link Replacer 50+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↑1 6 too high 21 CryptX 10K+ · 4.5★ (20) wp.org #22 1 too low 22 Email Deliverability – SMTP Replacement, Email API Deliverability & Email Log 200K+ · 2.5★ (17) wp.org #9 ↑1 13 too high 23 neo Replace – Simple replacement using drag & drop 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↑3 12 too high 24 AI Internal Links 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24

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.