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

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 “semrush”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 5 of the top 20. 3 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

Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights shows at wp.org #10 but places #21 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 50+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. places #6 on merit, 4.9★ from 380 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 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2 Easy MCP AI – Connect Claude to WordPress: MCP Server for ChatGPT & AI Agents 30K+ · 4.9★ (16) wp.org #2 3 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Trace My IP – Visitor IP Tracker, Stats Analytics & Page Views Counter with Email Alerts 1K+ · 4.5★ (21) wp.org #6 2 too low 5 Semrush SEO Writing Assistant 8K+ · 2.8★ (25) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too high 6 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #24 ↓2 18 too low 7 Cloud Maestro – WAF Security Suite for Cloudflare 70+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #7 8 Semrush Content Toolkit 2K+ · 2.6★ (5) wp.org #3 ↑1 5 too high 9 ClearPost – AI Auto Blogging & SEO Agent 80+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #13 ↓1 4 too low 10 AI Marketing Expert — AI Email Marketing, AI Content Generator, SEO Analyzer, AI Workflow Automation, Social Media & Ai Chatbot 2K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 2 too high 11 AlmaWeb AI Visitor Analytics 100+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 ↓1 1 too low 12 MCP Server for WordPress – Connect Claude, ChatGPT & Gemini | AtlasMCP 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 3 too high 13 Digigyan SEO Toolkit 20+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↑2 1 too low 14 Darkstar Keyword Manager 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 SEO Audit & PageSpeed Insights Scanner — White Label Agency Lead Generation — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 1 too low 16 Jass Bots Entry Control Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 ↓2 1 too low 17 Backlinks Patrol 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 2 too high 18 Mail Cloak 80+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 19 RelaunchRadar — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Spurn — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 Link Diagnostics – Broken Links, Redirects, and Link Insights 50+ · 4.0★ (2) wp.org #10 ↓1 11 too high 22 ProfileGuard – Anti Spam for LMS Profiles — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 AI Rank Suite — AI Search, llms.txt, Schema & SEO — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 ZEISMO SEO — · 5.0★ (1) 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.