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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “tracking 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 “tracking link”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 8 of the top 20. 5 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

Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce shows at wp.org #10 but places #20 on merit, a gap of 10 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 3.0★ average from 24 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) places #7 on merit, 4.8★ from 633 reviews, but shows at wp.org #11. 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 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #3 ↑2 1 too low 3 Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce 70K+ · 4.5★ (355) wp.org #2 1 too high 4 ThirstyAffiliates – Affiliate Links, Link Branding, Link Tracking & Marketing Plugin 30K+ · 4.6★ (251) wp.org #5 ↑1 1 too low 5 Tracking Code Manager 90K+ · 4.1★ (58) wp.org #4 1 too high 6 Link Whisper Free 30K+ · 4.2★ (150) wp.org #7 1 too low 7 AfterShip Tracking – All-In-One WooCommerce Order Tracking (Free plan available) 7K+ · 4.8★ (633) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Order Tracking – WordPress Status Tracking Plugin 3K+ · 4.6★ (73) wp.org #9 1 too low 9 Broken Link Checker by AIOSEO – Find & Fix Broken Internal, External & Video Links 200K+ · 3.8★ (87) wp.org #6 ↓3 3 too high 10 Simple Link Directory – AI Powered 2K+ · 4.8★ (121) wp.org #12 2 too low 11 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #14 ↓1 3 too low 12 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #13 ↑1 1 too low 13 Trakoo – Orders Tracking for WooCommerce 10K+ · 4.5★ (58) wp.org #8 5 too high 14 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 LinkCentral – URL shortener, Affiliate Links & Custom Link Shortener with Link Tracking 400+ · 5.0★ (19) wp.org #16 17 ATUM WooCommerce Inventory Management and Stock Tracking 10K+ · 4.7★ (128) wp.org #23 ↓6 6 too low 18 Amazon Link Engine 2K+ · 4.4★ (31) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 User Activity Tracking and Log 2K+ · 3.5★ (34) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Conversion Tracking for WooCommerce 20K+ · 3.0★ (24) wp.org #10 10 too high 21 Vanquish Shipping Tracking – Order Tracking & Carrier Links for WooCommerce 20+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Wp Tracking Codes 800+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 7 too high 23 Affiliate Link Marker 400+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓3 1 too low 24 Portugal CTT Tracking for WooCommerce 500+ · 5.0★ (5) wp.org #18 ↑1 6 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.