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

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

Ranked above its merit

Image Optimizer – Compress Images and Convert to WebP or AVIF shows at wp.org #10 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 1M+ installs carry it up the search order; its 1.7★ average from 81 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) 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★ (5231) wp.org #2 3 LiteSpeed Cache 7M+ · 4.8★ (2778) wp.org #3 4 The SEO Framework – Fast, Automated, Effortless. 200K+ · 4.9★ (380) wp.org #4 ↑18 5 Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #5 ↑3 6 GEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO 30K+ · 4.6★ (683) wp.org #7 ↓3 1 too low 7 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1268) wp.org #8 ↓1 1 too low 8 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #6 2 too high 9 Imagify Image Optimization: Optimize Images | Compress & Convert to WebP/AVIF 900K+ · 4.3★ (1657) wp.org #9 ↓4 10 WP Fastest Cache – WordPress Cache Plugin 1M+ · 4.9★ (4229) wp.org #13 ↑6 3 too low 11 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #11 ↓2 12 Super Page Cache – Cloudflare Cache, Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 70K+ · 4.8★ (517) wp.org #14 ↑2 2 too low 13 W3 Total Cache 900K+ · 4.4★ (5420) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 Forminator Forms – Contact Form, Payment Form & Custom Form Builder 600K+ · 4.8★ (2144) wp.org #23 9 too low 15 Internal Link Juicer: SEO Auto Linker for WordPress 100K+ · 4.7★ (537) wp.org #22 7 too low 16 SEO Engine – Smart SEO with AI, Schema & Redirection for WordPress 1K+ · 4.9★ (48) wp.org #16 ↓2 17 ThinkRank SEO – AI SEO Plugin for SEO & Google Search Console 20K+ · 4.9★ (36) wp.org #17 ↓5 18 SpeedyCache – Cache, Optimization, Performance 500K+ · 4.4★ (30) wp.org #15 ↓2 3 too high 19 Image Optimization For SEO 3K+ · 3.7★ (12) wp.org #12 ↓1 7 too high 20 LovedByAI – GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) & AI SEO Plugin: AEO, llms.txt 1K+ · 4.4★ (5) wp.org #20 21 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #21 ↓4 22 Image Optimizer – Compress Images and Convert to WebP or AVIF 1M+ · 1.7★ (81) wp.org #10 12 too high 23 Praison AI SEO 1K+ · 3.6★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 BoldGrid Easy SEO – Simple and Effective SEO 40K+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #19 ↓4 5 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.