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← Rankings

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

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 “simple seo”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 12 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

Simple SEO shows at wp.org #6 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 14 places. Its 400+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy places #8 on merit, 5.0★ from 4625 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 wp.org
1 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #1 2 Simple History – Track, Log, and Audit WordPress Changes 300K+ · 4.9★ (491) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Simple Custom Post Order 300K+ · 4.8★ (588) wp.org #5 ↑2 2 too low 4 Simple SEO 10K+ · 4.7★ (33) wp.org #3 ↓1 1 too high 5 SEO SIMPLE PACK 100K+ · 4.6★ (14) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 too high 6 Slim SEO – AI SEO Plugin, Lightweight, Fast & Automated 70K+ · 4.7★ (136) wp.org #7 ↓1 1 too low 7 Wordfence Security – Firewall, Malware Scan, and Login Security 5M+ · 4.7★ (5039) wp.org #11 ↑2 4 too low 8 TablePress – Tables in WordPress made easy 600K+ · 5.0★ (4625) wp.org #20 ↑1 12 too low 9 SmartCrawl SEO checker, analyzer & optimizer 10K+ · 4.8★ (171) wp.org #14 5 too low 10 Xagio SEO & AEO – AI SEO for Google Rankings & AI Visibility 10K+ · 4.9★ (51) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Seriously Simple Podcasting 20K+ · 4.7★ (330) wp.org #15 ↓5 4 too low 12 Simple 301 Redirects by BetterLinks – Easy Redirect Manager 100K+ · 3.8★ (162) wp.org #16 4 too low 13 Simple Sitemap – Responsive HTML Sitemap for WordPress 60K+ · 3.9★ (72) wp.org #13 ↑2 14 SEO Redirection Plugin – 301 Redirect Manager 10K+ · 4.3★ (73) wp.org #19 ↑4 5 too low 15 FV Simpler SEO 2K+ · 4.6★ (12) wp.org #10 ↑1 5 too high 16 Simple Social Media Share Buttons – Social Sharing for Everyone 20K+ · 4.8★ (194) wp.org #21 ↓1 5 too low 17 Simple Chat Button 40K+ · 4.8★ (14) wp.org #18 1 too low 18 Simple SEO Improvements 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 10 too high 19 SOOZ – AI for SEO – Bulk Generate Focus Keyphrases, Metadata, Alt Text (SEO Autopilot) 2K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #24 ↓2 5 too low 20 Simple SEO 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 ↓1 14 too high 21 Simple Page Redirect 10K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↑1 2 too low 22 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #17 5 too high 23 Simple SEO Noindex Toggle 60+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 BoldGrid Easy SEO – Simple and Effective SEO 40K+ · 3.0★ (3) wp.org #12 12 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.