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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “prevent adblock”

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 “prevent adblock”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 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

Popup for Elementor shows at wp.org #9 but places #24 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 1K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons places #4 on merit, 4.8★ from 5333 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #1 2 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 MailOptin – Popup, Optin Forms & Email Newsletters for Mailchimp, HubSpot, AWeber Etc. 10K+ · 4.8★ (438) wp.org #7 4 too low 4 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #22 18 too low 5 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #3 2 too high 6 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #17 11 too low 7 Steady for WordPress 600+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #21 13 too low 9 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #5 4 too high 10 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #23 13 too low 11 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #6 5 too high 12 Eazy Ad Unblocker 100+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #13 14 Floating Awesome Button (Sticky Button, Popup, Toast) & 200+ Website Custom Interactive Element 700+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Instant Popup Builder – Popup Maker for Videos, Forms, Offers, Announcements, Galleries & Exit Intent 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #14 1 too high 16 Gotham Block Extra Light 30+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #10 6 too high 17 Popup with exit intent, scroll triggered and anchor click for opt-ins, lead gen & more 40+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 Tiny Simple AdBlock Detector 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 Atomic Addons – AI Website Builder for Elementor & WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #19 20 Adqiro — Ad Blocker Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 Revenue Shield — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 3 too high 22 Spårlös Analytics: Privacy-Friendly Google Analytics Alternative — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 2 too high 23 AWO — Automatic Website Optimizer — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 1 too low 24 Popup for Elementor 1K+ · 1.0★ (1) wp.org #9 15 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.