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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “wp adblock”

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 “wp adblock”, we and wp.org disagree on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 4 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

Tiny Simple AdBlock Detector shows at wp.org #10 but places #23 on merit, a gap of 13 places. Its 10+ 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

Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons places #12 on merit, 4.9★ from 1911 reviews, but shows at wp.org #24. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Hustle – Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Optins, Popups 80K+ · 4.4★ (859) wp.org #4 3 too low 2 ZDN Adblock Detector 100+ · 4.4★ (7) wp.org #1 1 too high 3 Advanced Ads – Ad Manager & AdSense 90K+ · 4.9★ (1463) wp.org #6 3 too low 4 Poptin – Email Marketing Automation, Newsletter & Exit Pop Ups, Email Popups 20K+ · 4.9★ (701) wp.org #8 4 too low 5 FireBox – WooCommerce Popup Builder, Exit Intent Popup, Email Optin & Cart Abandonment 6K+ · 4.8★ (76) wp.org #5 6 CHP Ads Block Detector 800+ · 4.0★ (25) wp.org #3 3 too high 7 Custom Sidebars – Dynamic Sidebar Classic Widget Area Manager 100K+ · 4.7★ (1028) wp.org #18 11 too low 8 Steady for WordPress 600+ · 3.0★ (10) wp.org #2 6 too high 9 AdUnblocker 200+ · 4.8★ (32) wp.org #9 10 Ad Invalid Click Protector (AICP) 10K+ · 4.7★ (62) wp.org #14 4 too low 11 Customer Engagement System – Popup Builder, Forms, CRM & Email Marketing Automation 9K+ · 4.5★ (340) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons 10K+ · 4.9★ (1911) wp.org #24 12 too low 13 BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform 3K+ · 5.0★ (10) wp.org #7 6 too high 14 Popup builder with Gamification, Multi-Step Popups, Page-Level Targeting, and WooCommerce Triggers 70K+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #12 2 too high 15 Popup Builder & Popup Maker for WordPress – OptinMonster Email Marketing and Lead Generation 1M+ · 4.3★ (821) wp.org #23 8 too low 16 WP AdCenter – Ad Manager & Adsense Ads 900+ · 4.5★ (10) wp.org #16 17 wetracked.io for WooCommerce 800+ · 5.0★ (8) wp.org #11 6 too high 18 Eazy Ad Unblocker 100+ · 4.0★ (11) wp.org #22 4 too low 19 Clarity – Ad blocker for WordPress 2K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #20 1 too low 20 Movie Engine – OTT Streaming Platform for Movies & TV Series 100+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #15 5 too high 21 Gotham Block Extra Light 30+ · 3.2★ (11) wp.org #17 4 too high 22 Monetag Official Plugin 5K+ · 2.5★ (13) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 Tiny Simple AdBlock Detector 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 13 too high 24 My Agile Pixel® – Self-Hosted Server-Side Tracking for WordPress 300+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #13 11 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.