wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “seo migration”

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 “seo migration”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 6 of the top 20. 1 plugin is 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 the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

SiteSEO – SEO Simplified shows at wp.org #11 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 4.0★ average from 8 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 4228 reviews, but shows at wp.org #20. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin signals wp.org

Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27821) wp.org #1 2

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8708) wp.org #2 3

All-in-One WP Migration and Backup 5M+ · 4.5★ (7676) wp.org #3 4

WP STAGING – Backups & Restore, Migration & Clone Plugin – Cloud Backups, Scheduled Backups 100K+ · 4.8★ (2470) wp.org #4 5

SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #5 6

Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #6 7

Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #7 ↑10 8

Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #8 ↓1 9

Spectra Legacy – Gutenberg Blocks 1M+ · 4.7★ (1872) wp.org #12 ↓1 3 too low 10

SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #9 ↓1 1 too high 11

ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #10 ↓1 1 too high 12

WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4228) wp.org #20 ↑4 8 too low 13

LitExtension – Automated Store Migration & Import 1K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #13 ↓1 14

Redirection 2M+ · 4.4★ (703) wp.org #22 ↓2 8 too low 15

Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #15 ↓2 16

SureRank SEO – Meta Tags, Social Preview, XML Sitemap, Schema & Open Graph 300K+ · 4.8★ (51) wp.org #18 2 too low 17

Cloudways WordPress Migrator 10K+ · 4.2★ (36) wp.org #14 3 too high 18

DELUCKS SEO 300+ · 4.9★ (17) thin reviews wp.org #23 5 too low 19

InstaWP Connect – 1-click WP Staging & Migration 40K+ · 4.5★ (12) thin reviews wp.org #19 20

SEO Repair Kit – Spam Monitor, Meta Manager, Schema Manager, Internal Linking, SEO Content Monitoring, GSC Integration 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) thin reviews wp.org #17 ↓1 3 too high 21

Next-Cart Store to WooCommerce Migration 100+ · 5.0★ (7) thin reviews wp.org #21 ↑1 22

SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) host-installed base thin reviews wp.org #11 ↓1 11 too high 23

Demi – One Click Demo Import, Backup & Site Migration 300+ · 0.0★ (0) thin reviews wp.org #16 ↓1 7 too high 24

SEO Magic – Free AI SEO Assistant 100+ · 5.0★ (1) thin reviews wp.org #24

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.