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← Rankings

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

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 “moz”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 15 of the top 20. 3 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

Autobute – Auto Image Alt Text, Title & Caption for Image SEO shows at wp.org #6 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 8 places. Its 200+ 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

GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO places #5 on merit, 4.6★ from 683 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #1 2 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #2 3 RSS Aggregator by Feedzy – Feed to Post, Autoblogging, News & YouTube Video Feeds Aggregator 40K+ · 4.6★ (361) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #23 ↓1 18 too low 6 Custom Login Page Customizer 50K+ · 4.9★ (476) wp.org #24 ↓1 18 too low 7 WP Dashboard Notes 20K+ · 4.6★ (110) wp.org #16 ↓1 9 too low 8 Instant CSS 3K+ · 4.9★ (15) wp.org #11 3 too low 9 Off-Canvas Sidebars & Menus (Slidebars) 1K+ · 4.8★ (38) wp.org #22 ↓1 13 too low 10 SEO Audit – WP Site Auditor 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 3 too high 11 Superb Table (SEO Optimized Tables With Schema) 2K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #5 6 too high 12 SEO Fury – SEO & GEO: Schema, XML Sitemap, Redirects, 404 Monitor, llms.txt 10+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too high 13 Friends 900+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #21 ↓1 8 too low 14 Autobute – Auto Image Alt Text, Title & Caption for Image SEO 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 AlmaWeb AI Visitor Analytics 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓1 5 too high 16 Darkstar Keyword Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 8 too high 17 WPCreatix ViewMeter – WordPress Visitor Counter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Jass Bots Entry Control Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too high 19 RealTrace AI – Real Human and AI Traffic Counter — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too high 20 AI Rank Suite — AI Search, llms.txt, Schema & SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 LeadConnector 20K+ · 2.3★ (11) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 SEOMedic — SEO Booster & Link Auditor — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓1 5 too high 23 OptiCache 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 5 too high 24 Teamgate CRM Forms for WordPress 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 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.