id summary reporter owner description type status priority milestone component resolution keywords cc 3963 "Plugin names have too little ""weight"" in the search algorithm" littlebizzy "''Alternative summary: Plugin ratings (reviews) etc have too much ""weight"" in the search algorithm'' Dozens if not hundreds of very good plugins have all but died in recent years due to lack of being seen, and thus never really had a fighting chance to ""catch on"" in the WordPress ecosystem... this arguably results in a sort of monopolizing effect where older plugins (with lots of reviews, etc) blot out any new competition... In our case, we are able to leverage our 200,000+ active installs to promote our various plugins, and we also promote our plugins around the web. But for many other plugin newbies, it does not seem fair, or accurate. Here's 2 examples from our own plugins: **1. Disable Gutenberg** -- does not show up anywhere in the 18 pages of [https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/disable+gutenberg/ search results] for ""disable gutenberg"" despite being only one of two plugins with this exact match name. **2. Custom Functions** -- shows up on page 8 of [https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/custom+functions/page/8/ search results] despite being the only plugin in the entire directory with this exact match name (there is another plugin called ''My Custom Functions'', however). While the ratings average is a useful feature (among other items that are used in the current search algorithm), it would seem that plugin names -- and meta descriptions -- do not have enough weight in the calculation. Perhaps the goal is to force plugin authors to earn their reputation, which is fine, but it has the negative effect of preventing otherwise ""good"" plugins a chance at ever being seen, which is probably increasing the rate of plugin abandonment (not to mention extremely irrelevant/bizarre search results based largely on rating averages). Keep in mind that commercial ""app stores"" have multiple methods of highlighting new apps such as Trending, Popular This Month, Recommended For You, and other intelligent cross-promotions. But if WordPress.org is going to maintain its singular search algorithm, plugin names and meta descriptions should be given more weight. ''""Well they just need to promote themselves better.""'' Don't forget that the majority of plugins are not profit-oriented. Ultimately, this issue is punishing the most generous contributors to the WordPress project, who are not focused on self-promotion per se. ''""But literally all they need to do is get a few reviews to be seen better.""'' See above question/answer. Also, do we need more spam in the WP Admin Dashboard? In many cases we've had to wait 1-2 years to get our first reviews of a plugin, not to mention several thousand active installs..." enhancement closed normal Plugin Directory maybelater