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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “utm builder”

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 “utm builder”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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 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

Easy UTM Builder shows at wp.org #3 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 300+ installs carry it up the search order; its 0.0★ average from 0 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links places #9 on merit, 4.8★ from 1322 reviews, but shows at wp.org #18. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 FunnelKit – Funnel Builder Plugin for WooCommerce Checkout 30K+ · 5.0★ (1028) wp.org #2 1 too low 2 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (759) wp.org #4 2 too low 3 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #1 3 too high 5 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #10 5 too low 6 Brave – Create Popup, Optins, Lead Generation, Survey, Sticky Elements & Interactive Content 20K+ · 4.8★ (209) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 User Registration & Membership – Free & Paid Memberships, Subscriptions, Content Restriction, User Profile, Custom User Registration & Login Builder 50K+ · 4.8★ (832) wp.org #15 ↑1 8 too low 8 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #12 ↑1 4 too low 9 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #18 ↓4 9 too low 10 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1071) wp.org #19 9 too low 11 If-So Dynamic Content – Elementor & All Page Builders Personalization 7K+ · 4.7★ (92) wp.org #11 12 Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation 9K+ · 4.5★ (340) wp.org #16 ↑1 4 too low 13 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #14 ↑1 1 too low 14 WPFunnels – Funnel Builder for WooCommerce with Checkout & One Click Upsell 5K+ · 4.9★ (175) wp.org #21 ↓1 7 too low 15 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #20 5 too low 16 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #24 ↓1 8 too low 17 BetterLinks – Link Shortener, Link Cloaking, Redirects, Affiliate Link Manager & MCP 20K+ · 4.8★ (85) wp.org #23 ↓2 6 too low 18 Easy UTM Builder 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #3 15 too high 19 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #6 13 too high 20 Simple UTM Builder 40+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #7 13 too high 21 WPZOOM Forms – Drag & Drop Contact Form Builder for WordPress 10K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #13 ↓1 8 too high 22 UseStrict’s Calendly Embedder 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #22 ↑2 23 UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #9 ↓1 14 too high 24 AFB – Auto Form Builder: Drag & Drop Contact Forms, Multi-Step Forms, Conditional Logic & AI 200+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #17 ↑1 7 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.