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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “search console”

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

Search Engine Insights for Google Search Console shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 2K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 4 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk places #10 on merit, 4.8★ from 3220 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 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #1 2 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #2 3 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too low 4 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Search Exclude 50K+ · 4.8★ (218) wp.org #7 ↑2 2 too low 6 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #10 ↑1 4 too low 7 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #9 ↓1 2 too low 8 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #4 4 too high 9 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #12 ↑6 3 too low 10 Anti-Spam, Spam FireWall by CleanTalk 200K+ · 4.8★ (3220) wp.org #24 ↓11 14 too low 11 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #8 ↓1 3 too high 12 XML Sitemap & Google News 100K+ · 4.4★ (85) wp.org #14 ↑6 2 too low 13 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #13 ↓1 14 Insert Headers And Footers 200K+ · 5.0★ (135) wp.org #23 ↓4 9 too low 15 CrawlWP SEO – Complete WordPress SEO Plugin with AI, Indexing & Search Performance 30K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #15 ↑7 16 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #20 ↓6 4 too low 17 WP Fast Total Search – The Power of Indexed Search 1K+ · 4.4★ (28) wp.org #18 ↑5 1 too low 18 Search Console 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #11 ↓1 7 too high 19 Search with Typesense 700+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #21 2 too low 20 Search Engine Insights for Google Search Console 2K+ · 4.0★ (4) wp.org #6 ↓1 14 too high 21 SMNTCS Google Webmaster Tools 6K+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 ↓1 4 too high 22 Sitelinks Search Box 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #22 ↓1 23 Search Atlas SEO – OTTO AI SEO Automation for WordPress 7K+ · 3.3★ (24) wp.org #19 ↓2 4 too high 24 VK Filter Search 6K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 ↓1 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.