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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “text blocker”

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 “text blocker”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 13 of the top 20.

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

Easy IP Blocker shows at wp.org #5 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 11 places. Its 400+ 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

Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1087 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Yoast SEO – Advanced SEO with real-time guidance and built-in AI 10M+ · 4.8★ (27820) wp.org #3 2 too low 2 Advanced IP Blocker 3K+ · 4.9★ (27) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #4 ↓1 1 too low 4 Proxy & VPN Blocker 1K+ · 3.8★ (33) wp.org #2 2 too high 5 Real Cookie Banner: GDPR & ePrivacy Cookie Consent 100K+ · 4.9★ (492) wp.org #7 ↓1 2 too low 6 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #6 ↓1 7 GDPR Cookie Compliance – Cookie Banner, Cookie Consent, Cookie Notice for CCPA, EU Cookie Law 300K+ · 4.6★ (205) wp.org #13 6 too low 8 Quads Ads Manager for Google AdSense 20K+ · 4.9★ (1087) wp.org #23 ↓3 15 too low 9 WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ · 4.6★ (272) wp.org #20 ↓2 11 too low 10 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #22 ↓1 12 too low 11 Ads.txt Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (15) wp.org #19 ↓2 8 too low 12 Fraud Prevention For WooCommerce and EDD 4K+ · 3.7★ (23) wp.org #15 ↓1 3 too low 13 Spam Protect for Contact Form 7 10K+ · 4.1★ (12) wp.org #14 ↓2 1 too low 14 WPEPP – Essential Security, Password Protect & Login Page Customizer 3K+ · 4.1★ (19) wp.org #24 ↓3 10 too low 15 Email and Domain Blocker for WooCommerce 300+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #11 ↓2 4 too high 16 Easy IP Blocker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 ↓1 11 too high 17 Registration Email Blocker 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 9 too high 18 IP & Country Blocker Lite 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 9 too high 19 Invalid Traffic Blocker 40+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #10 9 too high 20 S Smart Country Blocker 20+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 ↓1 8 too high 21 DevDome Country Blocker: Geo Blocking, GeoIP Block 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↓1 5 too high 22 JetBlocker — Anti AdBlock & Revenue Recovery 30+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑5 5 too high 23 ConsentOwl — Cookie Consent & Tracker Blocker 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓2 5 too high 24 DevDome Bot Protection: Bot Blocker and AI Crawler Control 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 ↓2 3 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.