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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “product badges”

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 “product badges”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 6 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

Badges Woo shows at wp.org #8 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Customer Reviews for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 1539 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 Product Labels For Woocommerce (Sale Badges) 10K+ · 4.6★ (54) wp.org #1 ↑2 2 Product Badges For WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Product Bundle Builder for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.8★ (61) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 Product Badge, Label, Countdown Timer for WooCommerce – Sale Booster 5K+ · 4.8★ (30) wp.org #4 ↓2 5 Category AJAX Filter – Posts, Custom Post Types & Product Filter 6K+ · 4.9★ (158) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Advanced Woo Labels – Product Labels & Badges for WooCommerce 10K+ · 5.0★ (64) wp.org #6 ↑1 7 Advanced Product Labels for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.8★ (252) wp.org #9 2 too low 8 Better Badge – Custom Product Badges for WooCommerce 600+ · 5.0★ (9) wp.org #3 ↑2 5 too high 9 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #12 ↑2 3 too low 10 Customer Reviews for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.8★ (1539) wp.org #23 ↓3 13 too low 11 Points Management System For Gamification, Ranks, Badges, and Loyalty Rewards Program – myCred 10K+ · 4.6★ (472) wp.org #14 ↓10 3 too low 12 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #21 9 too low 13 WowStore – Store Builder & Product Blocks for WooCommerce 4K+ · 4.6★ (113) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 GamiPress – Gamification plugin to reward points, badges & ranks in WordPress, now with AI 10K+ · 4.9★ (493) wp.org #17 ↑1 3 too low 15 YITH WooCommerce Badge Management 10K+ · 2.9★ (93) wp.org #7 ↑1 8 too high 16 Product Carousel Slider & Grid Ultimate for WooCommerce 6K+ · 4.3★ (33) wp.org #19 ↑5 3 too low 17 Product Layouts for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #15 ↓2 2 too high 18 AI Product Tools – Bulk Product Content Generator & AI Toolkit for WooCommerce 500+ · 4.8★ (16) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Badges Woo 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↑4 11 too high 20 Product Expiry for WooCommerce 1K+ · 4.5★ (13) wp.org #20 ↓1 21 Dynamic AJAX Product Filters for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #24 ↓1 3 too low 22 WPC Badge Management for WooCommerce 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #18 ↓1 4 too high 23 Unlimited Product Labels and Product Badges for WooCommerce – Elegant Labels 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓2 10 too high 24 Secondary Product Image for WooCommerce 2K+ · 3.5★ (2) wp.org #16 8 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.