wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “post advertisement”
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 “post advertisement”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 of the top 20.
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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.
Ranked above its merit
WP Associate Post R2 shows at wp.org #11 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.
Buried gem
AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages places #12 on merit, 4.4★ from 1319 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.
User Role Editor 700K+ · 4.5★ (288)
wp.org #2 ↑1 1 too low 2 
Content Views – Post Grid & Filter (Shortcode, Blocks, Elementor Widgets) 100K+ · 4.8★ (333)
wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too low 3 
Post Types Unlimited 10K+ · 5.0★ (9) thin reviews
wp.org #1 2 too high 4 
Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463)
wp.org #5 1 too low 5 
Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433)
wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 
Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087)
wp.org #8 2 too low 7 
Delete Duplicate Posts 10K+ · 4.8★ (153)
wp.org #6 ↑1 1 too high 8 
The Plus Addons for Elementor – Mega Menu, Header Footer, Post Grid, AI Widgets & Templates 100K+ · 4.6★ (388)
wp.org #10 ↑1 2 too low 9 
Magazine Blocks – Blog Designer, Magazine & Newspaper Website Builder, Page Builder with Posts Blocks, Post Grid 6K+ · 4.9★ (11) thin reviews
wp.org #4 5 too high 10 
PublishPress Capabilities: User Role Access Control, Admin Area Permissions 90K+ · 4.7★ (143)
wp.org #13 ↑1 3 too low 11 
EmbedPress 100K+ · 4.8★ (307)
wp.org #17 ↑3 6 too low 12 AMP for WP – Accelerated Mobile Pages 70K+ · 4.4★ (1319)
wp.org #21 ↑1 9 too low 13 
Videopack 10K+ · 4.8★ (63)
wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 
Lazy Load for Videos 9K+ · 4.4★ (105)
wp.org #15 ↑2 1 too low 15 
Easy Modal 7K+ · 4.4★ (124)
wp.org #18 3 too low 16 
BlockSpare – Gutenberg Blocks, AI Content Generator & Site Builder for news, magazine, blog and business sites 10K+ · 4.8★ (34)
wp.org #20 ↓1 4 too low 17 
Post Grid, Slider & Carousel Ultimate – with Shortcode, Gutenberg Block & Elementor Widget 1K+ · 4.5★ (8) thin reviews
wp.org #9 ↑1 8 too high 18 
Simple Download Counter 2K+ · 4.9★ (19) thin reviews
wp.org #24 6 too low 19 
No External Links 4K+ · 4.8★ (16) thin reviews
wp.org #22 ↓1 3 too low 20 
Booking Package 10K+ · 4.0★ (15) thin reviews
wp.org #19 1 too high 21 
CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) thin reviews
wp.org #16 5 too high 22 
Responsive Tabs — Horizontal, Vertical & Accordion Tabs for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (5) thin reviews
wp.org #23 1 too low 23 WP Associate Post R2 2K+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews
wp.org #11 ↑1 12 too high 24 
Dynamic Post – AI Content – White Paper – Peer Review – Tax & Accounting Sites 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews
wp.org #12 ↑1 12 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.