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← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “version tag”

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 “version tag”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 11 of the top 20. 2 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

WP Global Site Tag shows at wp.org #7 but places #22 on merit, a gap of 15 places. Its 7K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 2 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin places #12 on merit, 4.8★ from 8706 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 GTM4WP – A Google Tag Manager (GTM) plugin for WordPress 700K+ · 4.5★ (155) wp.org #1 2 Meta Tag Manager 70K+ · 4.8★ (84) wp.org #2 3 PublishPress Tag Groups: Stylish Displays For Your Tags and Categories 3K+ · 4.8★ (57) wp.org #3 4 PixelYourSite – Your smart PIXEL (TAG) & API Manager 400K+ · 4.3★ (281) wp.org #4 5 Pixel Manager for WooCommerce – Conversion Tracking, Google Ads, GA4, TikTok, Dynamic Remarketing 40K+ · 4.9★ (399) wp.org #8 3 too low 6 Site Kit by Google – Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, Speed 5M+ · 4.2★ (1012) wp.org #6 7 Translate WordPress with GTranslate 900K+ · 4.9★ (4962) wp.org #11 4 too low 8 Rank Math SEO – AI SEO Tools to Dominate SEO Rankings 4M+ · 4.8★ (7519) wp.org #13 5 too low 9 Social Preview and Open Graph Tags 50K+ · 4.6★ (122) wp.org #10 1 too low 10 Infinity23 (Formerly Tag Manager) – One Plugin That Replaces All The Rest 20K+ · 4.7★ (53) wp.org #9 1 too high 11 Complianz GDPR/CCPA Cookie Consent Banner 1M+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #17 6 too low 12 UpdraftPlus: WP Backup & Migration Plugin 4M+ · 4.8★ (8706) wp.org #23 11 too low 13 PublishPress Taxonomies – Tag, Category, and Taxonomy Manager – Autotagger Automatically Add Terms 40K+ · 4.6★ (195) wp.org #16 3 too low 14 TranslatePress – Translate Multilingual sites with AI Translation 400K+ · 4.7★ (1667) wp.org #22 8 too low 15 The Events Calendar 600K+ · 4.2★ (2461) wp.org #21 6 too low 16 G Google Tag Manager 10K+ · 4.2★ (10) wp.org #5 11 too high 17 All in One SEO – AI SEO Plugin to Boost SEO Rankings & Traffic (Schema, Local SEO, Sitemap & SEO Insights) 2M+ · 4.7★ (5231) wp.org #19 2 too low 18 Code Snippets 1M+ · 4.7★ (510) wp.org #15 3 too high 19 GTM Kit – Google Tag Manager & GA4 integration 30K+ · 4.8★ (20) wp.org #18 1 too high 20 Meta Generator and Version Info Remover 10K+ · 5.0★ (28) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 Tag Pilot FREE – Google Tag Manager Integration for WooCommerce 1K+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 WP Global Site Tag 7K+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #7 15 too high 23 Auto Tag Creator – Automatic Tags for Posts and WooCommerce Products 1K+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #14 9 too high 24 Empty P Tag 700+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #20 4 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.