Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

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

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 target”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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 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

Extend Link shows at wp.org #12 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Redirection places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 703 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 #2 1 too low 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #4 ↑1 1 too low 4 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 Gallery Custom Links 30K+ · 4.7★ (208) wp.org #8 ↓4 3 too low 6 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #5 1 too high 7 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #1 7 too high 9 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #11 ↓2 2 too low 10 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #10 11 Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #20 ↑1 8 too low 13 External Links in New Window / New Tab 30K+ · 4.5★ (77) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too low 14 External Links – nofollow, noopener & new window 90K+ · 4.3★ (247) wp.org #15 ↓4 1 too low 15 WP Accessibility 60K+ · 4.8★ (68) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 SMNTCS Custom Logo Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #13 ↓1 3 too high 17 Page scroll to id 100K+ · 4.9★ (225) wp.org #24 ↓1 7 too low 18 Easy Affiliate Links 6K+ · 4.2★ (34) wp.org #23 ↓1 5 too low 19 Affiliate Links – Link Cloaking and Management 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Affiliate Link Marker 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #16 ↓1 4 too high 21 Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Target Blank to Button Block 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 8 too high 23 GamiPress – Link 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too high 24 Extend Link 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.