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

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 “taboola”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 9 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

AnyTrack Affiliate Link Manager shows at wp.org #9 but places #17 on merit, a gap of 8 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.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #5 3 too low 3 Taboola 1K+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #1 2 too high 4 Easy Google Adsense and Banner Ads Manager – AdsforWP 1K+ · 4.6★ (43) wp.org #8 ↓2 4 too low 5 Taboola Pixel 500+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #2 3 too high 6 Wedding RSVP – Wedding Guest List, Meal Choices & RSVP Tracker 100+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 Taboola Pixel for WooCommerce 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #4 3 too high 8 TrackSure Cloud – Server-Side Tracking, Meta CAPI & GA4 for WooCommerce 70+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #10 2 too low 9 AZO Ads – Video Ad, Banner Ad, Popup Ad, AdSense Ad & much more 60+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #14 ↓1 5 too low 10 Advanced Ads for WPBakery Page Builder 1K+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #6 ↑3 4 too high 11 AnyTrack for WooCommerce 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 4 too high 12 Taboola Push Notification — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 Adqiro — Ad Blocker Detector — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 2 too low 14 410Gone Consent Manager for Google Consent Mode and GTM 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↑2 2 too high 15 Inlay — Native Ad Monetisation 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 1 too low 16 Nahnu Asset Scanner 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #17 1 too low 17 AnyTrack Affiliate Link Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 8 too high 18 TupaHost Mobile Pages — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓2 19 Nelston Easy Conversion Tracking for Google & Meta Pixel — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 20 Jass Bots Entry Control Manager — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #20 21 SimpliRoot – Live Chat, AI Bot, Lead Capture & Call Tracking 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #21 ↓2 22 CookieKita — GDPR Consent & Cookie Banner 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↑1 23 EntrySource Database and UTM Tracker for Contact Form 7 — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #23 ↓2 24 KaaTai Consent Manager 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #24 ↓2

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.