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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “outbound tracking”

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 “outbound tracking”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

AI Search Analytics & Tracking shows at wp.org #6 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 832 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #1 2 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #2 3 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Koko Analytics – Privacy-Friendly WordPress Analytics 70K+ · 5.0★ (245) wp.org #8 ↑1 3 too low 6 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 Track The Click 7K+ · 4.7★ (18) wp.org #7 1 too high 9 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #12 3 too low 10 Mailgun for WordPress 80K+ · 3.8★ (49) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11 GAinWP Google Analytics Integration for WP 7K+ · 4.8★ (126) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 Beetle Tracking – Cloudflare Zaraz for WooCommerce 200+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #5 7 too high 13 Analytics Insights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress 10K+ · 4.6★ (34) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Quttera ThreatSign – Web Malware Scanner for WordPress 10K+ · 3.9★ (47) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Analytics Germanized for Google Analytics (GDPR / DSGVO) 7K+ · 4.5★ (27) wp.org #23 ↑1 8 too low 16 Link Manager – Analyze, Automate, and Monitor Links 1K+ · 4.4★ (10) wp.org #13 3 too high 17 Linker – URL shortener & track outbound link clicks 2K+ · 4.3★ (14) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Clicky Analytics 10K+ · 4.5★ (25) wp.org #24 6 too low 19 AI Search Analytics & Tracking 40+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 MAIO – ChatGPT SEO Tracking & AI Search Optimization 90+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 ↑1 5 too high 21 DevDome Analytics: Bot Traffic vs Human Traffic Website Statistics 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #14 7 too high 22 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #19 ↑1 3 too high 23 Lightweight Google Analytics 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 ↑1 1 too high 24 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑1 3 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.