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← Rankings

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

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 tags”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 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

UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms shows at wp.org #8 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 90+ 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

Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler places #12 on merit, 4.5★ from 2107 reviews, but shows at wp.org #21. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 HandL UTM Grabber / Tracker 10K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #1 2 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #5 2 too low 4 Burst Statistics – Simple WordPress Analytics (Google Analytics Alternative) 200K+ · 4.9★ (186) wp.org #6 ↑2 2 too low 5 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #11 ↑2 6 too low 6 PrettyLinks – Affiliate Link Management, URL Shortener, Link Cloaking, Tracking & Branded Short Links 200K+ · 4.8★ (1322) wp.org #12 ↓1 6 too low 7 MonsterInsights – Google Analytics Dashboard for WordPress (Website Stats Made Easy) 2M+ · 4.5★ (3157) wp.org #10 3 too low 8 Product Feed PRO for WooCommerce by AdTribes – Product Feeds for WooCommerce 80K+ · 4.7★ (1072) wp.org #13 ↓1 5 too low 9 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 ↓1 6 too high 10 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #18 8 too low 11 Independent Analytics – WordPress Analytics Plugin 100K+ · 4.8★ (167) wp.org #14 ↑1 3 too low 12 Blog2Social: Social Media Auto Post & Scheduler 40K+ · 4.5★ (2107) wp.org #21 ↓2 9 too low 13 Newsletter – Send awesome emails from WordPress 200K+ · 4.6★ (1205) wp.org #20 7 too low 14 E Easy UTM tracking with contact form 7 2K+ · 4.5★ (8) wp.org #4 10 too high 15 Revive Social – Social Media Auto Post and Scheduling Automation Plugin 20K+ · 4.0★ (556) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too low 16 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #22 ↓1 6 too low 17 Advanced Form Integration — Connect Forms to 300+ Apps 9K+ · 4.8★ (91) wp.org #23 ↓1 6 too low 18 Pixel Cat – Conversion Pixel Manager 40K+ · 4.0★ (41) wp.org #19 ↓1 1 too low 19 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 ↓1 12 too high 20 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 11 too high 21 UseStrict’s Calendly Embedder 2K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #15 ↑1 6 too high 22 Push Notifications for WP – Self Hosted Web Push Notifications 6K+ · 4.2★ (5) wp.org #24 ↓1 2 too low 23 UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #8 ↓1 15 too high 24 Easy UTM Builder 400+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #16 ↑1 8 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.