What is the best way to rank a Wordpress plugin nowadays?

finn99

finn99

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...or in other words, how to have it Featured (I see some plugins on that category, which happens to be the first one, with maybe one review, or none at all) and then making sure it stays in the Popular category?
Is it as easy as just publish it and get it reviewed to have it featured, then have a huge number of installs and reviews to have it in the Popular section?
 
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I don't think installs alone are enough. If people install the plugin but remove it quickly, that probably isn't a great signal for long-term visibility.
 
seo mastermind said:
I don't think installs alone are enough. If people install the plugin but remove it quickly, that probably isn't a great signal for long-term visibility.
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That's right. But my assumption is also that Wordpress, given it's nature, might not have gotten up to date with more "abuse resilient" ranking methods. I might be wrong tho.
 
What niche/category is your plugin in? Competition makes a big difference. From what I’ve seen, the plugin name, description/keywords, active installs, ratings and how consistently installs grow all matter more than simply getting a few reviews.
 
GroByTech said:
What niche/category is your plugin in? Competition makes a big difference. From what I’ve seen, the plugin name, description/keywords, active installs, ratings and how consistently installs grow all matter more than simply getting a few reviews.
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My plugin will basically just inject the same code my SaaS provides. I'm in the helpdesk/chatbot niche...

Is Wordpress known for banhammering? Should I maybe just let this grow organically?
 
Your niche has potential, if I were you, I would not spend money on reviews but spend on the marketing. This forum has many forums under Marketplace and Hire a Freelancer section too.
 
Wordpress plugins that ranks well or are on the popular category depends on some factors i.e there keyword ranking, number of active installs and niche.
 
The two lists you're asking about aren't the same kind of thing, which is why the advice above about installs and ratings only answers half of it. Popular is measured, it counts active installs in the category, so it responds to whatever keeps people using the plugin rather than to what got them to try it. Featured is selected rather than computed, so no install count buys a place on it.

Your own observation is the proof. You noticed plugins sitting there with one review or none, which can't happen on a list ordered by usage. So treat them as two separate jobs. Popular is won by retention, meaning uninstalls cost you more than installs earn you. Featured is won by the plugin looking clean, documented and actively supported at the moment somebody opens it, and that somebody is a person, not a query.

Best,
Floqal
 
finn99 said:
...or in other words, how to have it Featured (I see some plugins on that category, which happens to be the first one, with maybe one review, or none at all) and then making sure it stays in the Popular category?
Is it as easy as just publish it and get it reviewed to have it featured, then have a huge number of installs and reviews to have it in the Popular section?
Click to expand...
or Featured, WordPress.org currently has a specific experiment that selects newer plugins based on quality, security, compatibility, code standards, and other criteria—not just reviews.

For Popular, active installations are obviously important, but WordPress also considers factors such as relevance, popularity, recency, and compatibility in its directory/search systems.

If I were launching a plugin, I'd focus on:

Great plugin → strong readme/keywords → reliable updates → fast support → genuine reviews → real installs → external promotion.
 
BlackShield said:
based on quality, security, compatibility, code standards, and other criteria—not just reviews.
Click to expand...
I guess I was wrong then. I doubt I can rank a plugin that just injects a line of code in the <head> no matter how much I polish the code. I can ace the version compatibility tho, probably, and even make programmatic tests when a new version is launched.
 
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