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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “page tracker”

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 “page tracker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

WhatsLink Click Tracker shows at wp.org #7 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 400+ 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

The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates places #7 on merit, 4.6★ from 388 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 Email Tracker 800+ · 4.4★ (21) wp.org #1 2 HandL UTM Grabber / Tracker 10K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #10 ↓1 7 too low 4 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #8 ↑4 4 too low 5 Mongoose Page Plugin 10K+ · 4.6★ (64) wp.org #12 ↑1 7 too low 6 Kirki – Freeform Page Builder, Website Builder & Customizer 400K+ · 4.5★ (81) wp.org #11 ↓1 5 too low 7 The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388) wp.org #20 ↑1 13 too low 8 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #17 9 too low 9 Media Tracker – Track Unused, Duplicate & Used Media 1K+ · 4.2★ (9) wp.org #4 5 too high 10 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 60K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #24 13 too low 12 Analytics Tracker 900+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 10 too high 13 Nexter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder & AI Website Builder 9K+ · 4.8★ (90) wp.org #23 10 too low 14 Order Tracker for WooCommerce – Track Customer Order 900+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #6 ↑1 8 too high 15 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #18 ↑1 3 too low 16 Alpaca Issue Tracker 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too high 17 Lite LMS Progress Tracker by LifterLMS – Simple Course, Membership Site and Content Progress Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 4.7★ (3) wp.org #16 ↑2 1 too high 18 UTM Tracker for Contact Form 7 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 ↑2 9 too high 19 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 ↑1 5 too high 20 WhatsLink Click Tracker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 ↑1 13 too high 21 Source Medium Tracker for Contact Form 7 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 ↑1 2 too high 22 atec 404 Tracker 50+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 23 Smart Click Tracker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↑2 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.