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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “share link”

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 “share link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 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

Share Link shows at wp.org #2 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 18 places. Its 100+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 1 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings places #6 on merit, 4.8★ from 7519 reviews, but shows at wp.org #15. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #1 2 Simple Share Buttons Adder 40K+ · 4.3★ (627) wp.org #3 1 too low 3 AddToAny Share Buttons 300K+ · 4.7★ (1114) wp.org #4 1 too low 4 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too low 5 Social Media Share Buttons & Social Sharing Icons 100K+ · 4.8★ (5333) wp.org #13 ↓7 8 too low 6 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #15 ↓4 9 too low 7 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #12 5 too low 8 Internal Links Manager 10K+ · 4.8★ (33) wp.org #8 9 Super Web Share – Native Social Sharing Button 2K+ · 4.9★ (29) wp.org #7 ↑6 2 too high 10 Social Share for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (12) wp.org #5 5 too high 11 Elementor Website Builder – more than just a page builder 10M+ · 4.5★ (7323) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Social Share Buttons 1K+ · 4.8★ (28) wp.org #10 ↓1 2 too high 13 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #17 ↓3 4 too low 14 Share Buttons & AI-powered Summaries 1K+ · 5.0★ (16) wp.org #11 ↓1 3 too high 15 Jetpack – AI Agents & MCP, Security, Backup & Analytics 3M+ · 3.7★ (2408) wp.org #23 ↓5 8 too low 16 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 ShareThis Share Buttons 10K+ · 3.5★ (26) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 Share This Image 1K+ · 4.1★ (22) wp.org #16 2 too high 19 Social Share Button 1K+ · 4.1★ (17) wp.org #18 ↓1 1 too high 20 Share Link 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #2 18 too high 21 Link Shortner 700+ · 4.5★ (11) wp.org #22 ↓1 1 too low 22 WPC Share Cart for WooCommerce 1K+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #19 3 too high 23 Social Share Block – Help Visitors Spread Your Content Everywhere 2K+ · 4.3★ (3) wp.org #21 ↑1 2 too high 24 Easy Share Solution For WordPress 900+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #20 4 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.