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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “taxonomy description”

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 “taxonomy description”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 18 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

Category Description for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #3 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 17 places. Its 700+ 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

Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce places #10 on merit, 4.7★ from 1072 reviews, but shows at wp.org #22. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Category Order and Taxonomy Terms Order 500K+ · 4.5★ (162) wp.org #1 2 Beautiful taxonomy filters 2K+ · 4.9★ (68) wp.org #2 3 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #6 ↓3 3 too low 4 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #7 3 too low 5 SEOPress – AI SEO Plugin & On-site SEO 300K+ · 4.8★ (1267) wp.org #12 ↑2 7 too low 6 Advanced Custom Fields (ACF®) 2M+ · 4.5★ (1440) wp.org #9 ↑1 3 too low 7 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #14 ↓1 7 too low 8 Royal Addons for Elementor – Addons and Templates Kit for Elementor 600K+ · 4.8★ (612) wp.org #16 ↓4 8 too low 9 Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce – CTX Feed – Support 220+ Shopping, AI & Social Channels 90K+ · 4.6★ (838) wp.org #20 ↓3 11 too low 10 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072) wp.org #22 12 too low 11 Media Library Assistant 70K+ · 4.8★ (202) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Custom Post Type UI 1M+ · 4.6★ (276) wp.org #15 ↑1 3 too low 13 Post Types Order 600K+ · 4.5★ (296) wp.org #18 5 too low 14 MDTF – Meta Data and Taxonomies Filter 900+ · 4.5★ (28) wp.org #11 ↓3 3 too high 15 BEAR – Bulk Editor for WooCommerce Professional. AI assistant on board (MCP Server) 30K+ · 4.7★ (228) wp.org #24 ↓1 9 too low 16 MB Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies 10K+ · 4.7★ (13) wp.org #10 ↓1 6 too high 17 Easy Table of Contents 600K+ · 4.4★ (221) wp.org #21 ↑1 4 too low 18 Remove Taxonomy URL 1K+ · 4.2★ (6) wp.org #5 ↑1 13 too high 19 WP Taxonomy Manager 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #4 ↑1 15 too high 20 Category Description for WooCommerce 700+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #3 ↑1 17 too high 21 Enable Abilities for MCP 5K+ · 5.0★ (17) wp.org #17 ↓2 4 too high 22 Taxonomy/Term and Role-based Discounts for WooCommerce 200+ · 4.4★ (8) wp.org #13 ↓2 9 too high 23 P Product Categories/Tags Bottom Description for WooCommerce 3K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 SiteSEO – SEO Simplified 400K+ · 4.0★ (8) wp.org #23 ↓2 1 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.