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

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 tracker”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 17 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

UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms shows at wp.org #5 but places #14 on merit, a gap of 9 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

Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode places #5 on merit, 4.4★ from 440 reviews, but shows at wp.org #17. 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 WP Statistics – Simple, privacy-friendly Google Analytics alternative 500K+ · 4.1★ (758) wp.org #6 4 too low 3 SlimStat Analytics – Real-Time Stats, Heatmaps & Ecommerce 70K+ · 4.8★ (816) wp.org #10 7 too low 4 UTM Event Tracker and Analytics, UTM Grabber 800+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #3 1 too high 5 Cookiebot – Cookie Banner & Cookie Consent for GDPR, CCPA & Google Consent Mode 100K+ · 4.4★ (440) wp.org #17 ↓2 12 too low 6 URL Shortify – Simple and Easy URL Shortener 10K+ · 4.7★ (169) wp.org #16 10 too low 7 UTM Tracker for Contact Form 7 400+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #2 5 too high 8 Connector for Gravity Forms and Google Sheets 3K+ · 4.7★ (66) wp.org #20 ↓1 12 too low 9 Plausible Analytics 10K+ · 5.0★ (29) wp.org #23 ↓2 14 too low 10 BaseCloud UTM Tracker 90+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 6 too high 11 FormsCRM – Connect Forms to CRM directly 1K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #13 ↓1 2 too low 12 Opti-Behavior – Self-Hosted Heatmaps, Funnels, A/B Testing & Smart Insights 1K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #24 ↓2 12 too low 13 Source Medium Tracker for Contact Form 7 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #9 4 too high 14 UTM Tracker for Gravity Forms 90+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #5 9 too high 15 WP Consent API 200K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 7 too high 16 WhatsLink Click Tracker 400+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #7 9 too high 17 PGO Simple UTM Tracker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 5 too high 18 Codersly Visitor Tracker 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too high 19 UTM Manager – UTM Tracking, Lead Attribution & Campaign Analytics 100+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 ↓2 8 too high 20 MZ UTM Tracker for Gravity Form 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1 5 too high 21 DevLemon UTM Tracker — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #18 ↓1 3 too high 22 Royal Links – Affiliate Link Cloaking, Shortener & Tracker 50+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #19 ↓1 3 too high 23 Q Qaiyo UTM Tracker for Fluent Forms — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #22 ↓2 1 too high 24 Live Traffic Analytics – Real-Time Visitor & Bot Tracking – Google Analytics Alternative 60+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 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.