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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “measurement”

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 “measurement”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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

Mailster Google Analytics shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 800+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels places #11 on merit, 4.6★ from 838 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 Performance Lab 100K+ · 4.3★ (51) wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 Flexible Quantity & Price Calculator for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.3★ (9) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 GAinWP Google Analytics Integration for WP 7K+ · 4.8★ (126) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 GA Google Analytics – Connect Google Analytics to WordPress 400K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 SiteOrigin CSS 100K+ · 4.9★ (153) wp.org #9 4 too low 6 Germanized for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (496) wp.org #14 ↑1 8 too low 7 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #3 ↓1 4 too high 8 SEO SIMPLE PACK 100K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #6 ↓1 2 too high 9 CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally 10K+ · 4.9★ (128) wp.org #13 ↑3 4 too low 10 Recipe Card Blocks Lite 10K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #11 ↓4 1 too low 11 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #21 ↓2 10 too low 12 Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.6★ (22) wp.org #15 ↑3 3 too low 13 TrueAna – True Analytics Dashboard 1K+ · 5.0★ (30) wp.org #24 ↓12 11 too low 14 AAA Autoload Optimizer 9K+ · 4.6★ (25) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 PriceWise – Measurement Price Calculator for WooCommerce 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 ↑1 3 too high 16 Measurement Pixel for OpenAI Ads 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 12 too high 17 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 10 too high 18 Aurora Heatmap 10K+ · 4.7★ (7) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 Opt-Out for Google Analytics (DSGVO / GDPR) 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #19 20 HT Easy GA4 – Google Analytics WordPress Plugin 6K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #20 21 Lightweight Google Analytics 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 ↓2 5 too high 22 Analytics Tracker 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #17 ↓7 5 too high 23 Mailster Google Analytics 800+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 Global Site Tag Tracking 1K+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #23 ↓1 1 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.