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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “links select”

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 “links select”, we agree with wp.org 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 7322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #1 2 P Page Links To 100K+ · 4.9★ (157) wp.org #2 3 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #7 ↑1 4 too low 4 Link Library 10K+ · 4.7★ (97) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8709) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 Auto Affiliate Links 2K+ · 4.1★ (39) wp.org #3 ↑1 3 too high 7 Folders – Unlimited Folders to Organize Media Library Folder, Pages, Posts, File Manager 90K+ · 5.0★ (1526) wp.org #16 ↑4 9 too low 8 Visual Link Preview 10K+ · 4.5★ (36) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #14 ↑2 4 too low 11 WP Links Page 3K+ · 4.6★ (45) wp.org #11 12 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7322) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 Yoast Duplicate Post 3M+ · 4.7★ (538) wp.org #21 8 too low 14 Floating Social Share Icons and Social Share buttons – Next Previous Post Links – FL 200+ · 4.7★ (73) wp.org #18 4 too low 15 Link Juice Keeper 10K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #13 2 too high 16 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 2K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Add Anchor Links 1K+ · 4.7★ (6) wp.org #10 ↓1 8 too high 19 Comment Link Remove and Other Comment Tools 8K+ · 4.1★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓2 20 Syndication Links 300+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 B Bulk-Select Featured Image 100+ · 3.1★ (14) wp.org #20 ↓2 1 too high 22 VK Link Target Controller 30K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #12 10 too high 23 Automatic Internal Links for SEO by Pagup 900+ · 3.0★ (8) wp.org #17 ↓2 6 too high 24 Canonical Link 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 ↓3 2 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.