A Google Business Profile is free, it is run by Google, and there is no argument for not having one — set it up today. But it answers "where is this place and what is near me", and distance from the searcher is one of the things Google ranks on, which is exactly the customer a ranked list reaches and a map pin cannot: the one planning a trip from another country.
Comparison last checked 2026-08-03
| What matters | Thairanked | Google Business Profile |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | One flat listing fee from 399 THB a year — editorial research, a ranked placement and a listing our team keeps current for you. | Free. Google’s own words: you can manage how your business shows up on Maps and Search at no charge. There is no upsell to be visible here, and we are not going to spin that into a weakness. |
| How placement is earned | Editors research and rank, and distance from the reader is not a factor — a list of the best in Chiang Mai reads the same in Berlin as it does on Nimman Road. Paid featured spots are capped at three per list and always badged. | Relevance, distance and prominence — and Google states plainly that there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. That is a strong, clean policy. It also means distance decides a lot of it, and you cannot move your building. |
| User input & votes | Readers vote a business up or down on every list, and upvotes are the first thing the organic order sorts on. Verified businesses get Line, WhatsApp and Facebook share links that invite a thumbs up in one tap. | Customer reviews, which are the heart of the product — and once you verify, you can reply to every one of them in public. This is the one place where Google gives your customers more voice than we do. |
| Commission on bookings | Zero. We never take a cut of a booking, a cover or a sale. | None. The profile is free and Google does not bill you for the customers it sends. On commission, the two of us agree. |
| Placement longevity | Your listing runs for a year, stays published and indexed throughout, and moves on votes, views and editorial review. Renewal is yearly and never automatic. | Indefinite, as long as you keep the profile verified and accurate. There is no budget to run out and no renewal to forget — a real advantage over anything you rent. |
| Setup effort | One form and one payment. Our team reviews the listing and publishes it, usually within two business days, and keeps the details up to date for you afterwards. | Create the profile, then verify it — Google picks the verification method for you and the review can take up to five business days. Note the eligibility rule: profiles are not for online-only businesses. |
| Audience & languages | People deciding where to go, eat and book in Thailand — around two-thirds of them outside the country, reading in one of 11 languages, often weeks before they land. | Everyone on Google Search and Maps — but distance from the person searching is a ranking factor, so the profile is at its strongest with someone already nearby. |
| Reporting | Page views on your listing and the votes readers leave. Honest limitation: we cannot tell you how many people asked for directions. | Strong and free: views on Search and Maps, the search terms people used, calls, direction requests and website clicks — for verified profiles. |
This is the single best free thing a Thai business can do online, and we would tell you that even if it cost us customers. It is managed at no charge, it puts your hours, phone number and photos directly into Search and Maps, and Google is unusually direct about integrity: there is no way to request or pay for a better local ranking. Reviews sit at the centre of it, and once you verify you can answer every one of them in public. The free performance data is genuinely useful too — views on Search and Maps, the terms people searched, calls, direction requests. If your profile is not claimed and verified yet, close this page and go and do that first. Nothing on Thairanked replaces it.
A profile answers a question about you; a ranked list answers a question about a category. Someone who types your name will find your profile — that is a customer you already had. Someone who types "best rooftop bar in Bangkok" is choosing, and Google decides local results partly on how far each business is from the person searching. Distance is a sensible signal for a phone in Sukhumvit and a useless one for a laptop in Osaka. That planning-stage traveller is who a listing reaches: around two-thirds of our readers are outside Thailand and content is published in 11 languages, which is not a shape a map pin has. Two more differences: readers can vote a business up, and upvotes are the first thing our lists sort on — so a good month of happy customers actually moves you. And ranked lists are the format AI assistants quote: 150,000+ Google AI Overview impressions Jan–Jul 2026, out of 500,000+ page views Jan–Jul 2026 — on track for 1M+ in 2026. One flat fee from 399 THB a year, with paid featured spots capped at three per list and always badged.
This is the one comparison on this site where the honest answer is not "it depends". Do the Business Profile first, always, because it is free and it is where people who already know your name will look. Then ask a second question: how many of your customers are not local? If the answer is "hardly any" — a neighbourhood laundry, a clinic serving one district — a profile may genuinely be all you need, and we would rather say so than take your money. If the answer is "most of them arrive from somewhere else", a profile ranked partly on distance is the wrong tool for reaching them while they are still planning, and a listing on a ranked list read in 11 languages is what fills that gap.
500,000+ page views Jan–Jul 2026 — on track for 1M+ in 2026. Page views from our analytics, not an estimate, and always quoted with the period they were measured in.
Around two-thirds of readers come from outside Thailand — Germany, the Netherlands, France, Japan, Korea and beyond — and content is published in 11 languages. Your listing reaches the trip that is still being planned, not only the customer already standing on your street.
A single listing fee from 399 THB a year — not a cost per click, not a cost per booking. You know the whole bill before you pay it, and renewal is yearly and never automatic.
We never take a cut of your bookings or sales. What a customer pays you is yours — a busy month costs exactly the same as a quiet one.
Verified businesses get Line, WhatsApp and Facebook share links, and readers who arrive through them can give you a thumbs up in one tap. Upvotes are the first thing our lists sort on, so happy customers can genuinely strengthen your spot — no paid placement can buy that.
Our newsletter subscribers get weekly picks of top-ranked places, new lists and travel tips — and the businesses those picks feature are the ones ranked on the site.
150,000+ Google AI Overview impressions Jan–Jul 2026. When someone asks an assistant where to go in Thailand, ranked lists are the shape of content it can quote — and ours are being quoted.
Join Thairanked from 399 THB a year — one flat fee, zero commission on bookings.