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← Rankings

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

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 intent”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 2 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

Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress shows at wp.org #6 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 40+ 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

GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO places #9 on merit, 4.6★ from 683 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Search Insights – Privacy-Friendly Search Analytics 3K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #1 ↑1 2 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #5 ↑1 3 too low 3 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Max Mega Menu 300K+ · 4.8★ (882) wp.org #10 ↑1 6 too low 5 Popup Maker – Boost Sales, Conversions, Optins, Subscribers with the Ultimate WP Popup Builder 600K+ · 4.9★ (4514) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too low 6 FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #9 ↓1 3 too low 7 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #7 8 Popup Maker – Responsive popup, Exit Intent Pop up, Email Optins, Autoresponder & More 7K+ · 4.5★ (144) wp.org #11 ↓2 3 too low 9 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #19 ↓4 10 too low 10 AI Search for WooCommerce – Semantic Search 200+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #2 ↓1 8 too high 11 AI Product Search for WooCommerce – Motive Commerce Search 300+ · 4.6★ (10) wp.org #3 8 too high 12 SearchIQ – The Search Solution 1K+ · 4.9★ (197) wp.org #12 ↑1 13 GetGenie – AI SEO Assistant & Content Writer with Keyword Research, AEO & GEO 70K+ · 4.8★ (119) wp.org #17 ↑1 4 too low 14 SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #16 ↑1 2 too low 15 Popup Builder – Create highly converting, mobile friendly marketing popups. 200K+ · 4.7★ (2215) wp.org #24 9 too low 16 Google for WooCommerce 800K+ · 2.7★ (268) wp.org #8 ↓3 8 too high 17 Scry Search: Meilisearch for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #6 ↑4 11 too high 18 MxChat – AI Chatbot & Content Generation for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (31) wp.org #22 ↓1 4 too low 19 Poptics – Popup Builder, Email Opt-ins, Exit-Intent & WooCommerce Popups Sales 1K+ · 5.0★ (15) wp.org #21 ↓1 2 too low 20 Search Console 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #14 6 too high 21 Popup and Widget Builder: Lead Capture, Exit Intent, Forms, Quizzes, Gamification 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #20 ↓1 1 too high 22 Advanced Popups 60K+ · 4.0★ (9) wp.org #23 1 too low 23 Koala AI 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too high 24 ContentPen 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↑4 6 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.