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

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 “metatag”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 7 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

MetaTagsFromContent shows at wp.org #7 but places #13 on merit, a gap of 6 places. Its 20+ 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

ITRO Popup Plugin places #4 on merit, 4.6★ from 121 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Open Graph Protocol Framework 3K+ · 4.3★ (15) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 Search Engine Insights for Google Search Console 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Search Console 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #3 4 ITRO Popup Plugin 5K+ · 4.6★ (121) wp.org #15 11 too low 5 Simple Mastodon Verification 800+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 1 too low 6 WP Basic Elements 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 Simple fediverse:creator 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 WP AutoKeyword 200+ · 3.0★ (4) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 M MetaTag 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #9 10 pymSEO 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #16 6 too low 11 Insytful — · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 2 too low 12 TDMRep: TDM Reservation Protocol 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 4 too high 13 MetaTagsFromContent 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 BrightEdge Autopilot Page Publisher 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 3 too high 15 Baloa Structure Auditor for SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Prerender Plugin 70+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 S Skyword XMLRPC publishing 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 F flodjiShare 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 E eFront — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 5 too low 20 N News Keywords 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too low 21 G Google News Keyword Meta Tag 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #23 2 too low 22 M MyGeoPosition.com Geotagging: Geotags / GeoMetatags / GeoFeedtags / GeoMicrodata / Maps 100+ · 3.0★ (2) wp.org #18 4 too high 23 WP Blockchain 10+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #20 3 too high 24 WP Social Integration 10+ · 1.0★ (2) wp.org #19 5 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.