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← Rankings

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

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 tool”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 5 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

Hostinger Tools shows at wp.org #5 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 3M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.5★ average from 40 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security places #11 on merit, 4.7★ from 5039 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 wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #1 2 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 Broken Link Checker 500K+ · 3.8★ (605) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too high 4 Advanced Editor Tools 1M+ · 4.5★ (354) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too low 5 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #13 ↑1 6 too low 8 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (151) wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too low 10 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #18 7 too low 12 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #11 ↑1 1 too high 13 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #15 ↓6 2 too low 14 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #22 ↑1 7 too low 16 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #21 5 too low 17 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #20 ↑2 3 too low 18 Hostinger Tools 3M+ · 3.5★ (40) wp.org #5 ↑1 13 too high 19 Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #14 ↑2 5 too high 20 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #8 12 too high 21 Broken Link Notifier 1K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #17 ↑2 4 too high 22 Amazon Link Engine 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #23 ↑1 1 too low 23 Link Checker 4K+ · 3.2★ (30) wp.org #19 ↑1 4 too high 24 LWS Tools 10K+ · 5.0★ (6) 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.