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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “random adsense”

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 “random adsense”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 4 of the top 20. 4 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

CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction shows at wp.org #4 but places #8 on merit, a gap of 4 places. Its 8K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.4★ average from 13 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Ad Inserter – Ad Manager & AdSense Ads 300K+ · 4.9★ (2433) wp.org #1 2 Insert Html Snippet 20K+ · 4.9★ (237) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 Quick Adsense 20K+ · 3.9★ (74) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 WPCode – Insert Headers and Footers + Custom Code Snippets – WordPress Code Manager 3M+ · 4.9★ (1916) wp.org #5 1 too low 5 Seraphinite Accelerator 50K+ · 4.8★ (476) wp.org #7 2 too low 6 AdUnblocker 200+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #10 4 too low 7 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #6 1 too high 8 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 CHP Ads Block Detector 800+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #8 1 too high 10 Okito Cookie Consent — · 4.9★ (10) wp.org #20 10 too low 11 CM Ad Changer – A simple tool to control and optimize your site’s banners 100+ · 3.1★ (15) wp.org #9 2 too high 12 AZO Ads – Video Ad, Banner Ad, Popup Ad, AdSense Ad & much more 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #12 13 AdRedux – Insert Ads & Analytics Codes 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #24 11 too low 14 Video Share VOD – Turnkey Video Site Builder Script 60+ · 2.3★ (12) wp.org #13 1 too high 15 AdFusion – Ad Manager, Monetization & AdSense Tracking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #11 4 too high 16 AdS by BestWebSoft 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 2 too high 17 A Ad Code Manager 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too high 18 PubExa – Ad Manager, Ad Inserter & Website Monetization 30+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 PYH Ads — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 2 too high 20 SlotMaster – Banner & Ad Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 2 too high 21 Monetize Me — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 2 too high 22 Sanil Ads Kit — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 VideoWhisper Light Cookie Consent — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Consent Collector JP — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 1 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.