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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “rank 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 “rank tracker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

RankMetric – SERP Rank Tracker for Google Search, Maps, AI Overview & AI Mode shows at wp.org #9 but places #19 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20+ 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

10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer places #8 on merit, 4.6★ from 405 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7506) wp.org #1 2 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5209) wp.org #2 3 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1258) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 CWILL (Formerly ParcelPanel) – Shipment Tracking, Tracking & Order Tracking for WooCommerce 7K+ · 4.9★ (536) wp.org #12 7 too low 6 TrueRanker 400+ · 4.6★ (9) wp.org #4 2 too high 7 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (378) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 10Web Booster – Website speed optimization, Cache & Page Speed optimizer 70K+ · 4.6★ (405) wp.org #24 16 too low 9 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #15 6 too low 10 ThinkRank AI SEO – AI SEO Plugin for WordPress: Schema, XML Sitemaps, Meta Tags, Search Console & Local SEO 10K+ · 4.9★ (30) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 LinkBoss – Semantic AI Internal Linking 2K+ · 4.8★ (17) wp.org #10 1 too high 12 Wincher Rank Tracker 3K+ · 4.0★ (56) wp.org #11 1 too high 13 BrikPanel: WooCommerce Dashboard, Abandoned Cart Recovery, Google Sheets Sync, Inventory Management & Bulk Editor 1K+ · 5.0★ (48) wp.org #13 14 Check for Broken Links – Broken Link Checker & SEO Suite 1K+ · 4.0★ (6) wp.org #6 8 too high 15 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 100+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 8 too high 16 Textmetrics 400+ · 4.3★ (7) wp.org #19 3 too low 17 AEO God Mode – AI Search Visibility 300+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #17 18 Keyword Rank Tracker 80+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #14 4 too high 19 RankMetric – SERP Rank Tracker for Google Search, Maps, AI Overview & AI Mode 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 10 too high 20 Rank Bix SEO – Lightweight SEO Toolkit with Multi-AI 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #16 4 too high 21 SEO Fury – Lightning-Fast SEO + GEO: Schema, Redirects, llms.txt & More 30+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 1 too high 22 Rankiva – SEO & Keyword Insights for Google Search Console 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 23 GEO Rank Optimizer – Generative Engine Optimization 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 24 CitedSEO 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.