Dutch National Franchise Fair Gorinchem 2026: thank you for the book launch

A word of thanks from Gijs Bodenstaff after the book launch

What a day. On 2 October 2026, I had the privilege of presenting my latest books at De Nationale Franchise Beurs in Evenementenhal Gorinchem. I would like to warmly thank the fair's organisers, Hallo Franchise, De FranchiseAdviseur and De Nationale Franchise Gids, for the platform in the seminar programme. Giving a presentation to franchisors, marketing managers and people who are about to open their own location is a privilege. They are exactly the people I write for.

My second thanks go to everyone who sat in the room, asked questions and stayed on afterwards to talk by the FranchiseSEO.nl roll-up banner. The conversations about Google Business Profiles suspended for no reason, about locations that do not exist in ChatGPT and about reviews that nobody answers show how much the topic matters. And I am grateful for the many direct orders of the Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027, already during and just after the presentation. I had not expected that.

For those who do not know me yet: read about Gijs Bodenstaff as an author. I have been active in local SEO since 2010 and these days I focus mainly on how a chain becomes visible per location in Google Maps, AI Overviews and AI assistants. On this page you can read what I presented, take a limited look inside the book, order it directly and invite me to give a workshop for your franchise brand.

What I presented in the seminar room

The presentation revolved around one idea from the book: a chain with a hundred locations does not have one findability problem, but a hundred. Google does not assess a brand, but each location separately. That is why I showed where things go wrong in practice and what a franchisor can arrange centrally without franchisees having to make a full-time job of it.

The three topics of the book launch

• The foundation at scale. Account architecture, verification, categories and opening hours: the basis of managing Google Business Profiles.
• AI visibility per location. What AI search engines do with a local query and how to measure whether a location is mentioned. That is the core of being found in AI assistants.
• Reviews under new law. Why review management is a process and not a good intention, with reviews per location within 24 hours as an example.

Why this topic matters now

The handbook draws on the Local SEO Benchmark Franchise Chains 2026: 500 Google Business Profiles of the 100 largest Dutch franchise chains, tracked for six months. The outcome is that the differences between locations of the same franchise brand are large. Anyone who wants to solve that starts with clear agreements between head office and the locations, and with location pages with schema that Google and AI systems can understand.

Photos and videos of the fair

For those who were not there, or who would like to look back: below are the FranchiseSEO.nl roll-up banner at the entrance and the seminar room just before the presentation. The banner showed the promotion of the day: scan the QR code, request a free local SEO scan of three locations and be in with a chance of winning the handbook, worth €75. That promotion runs until 31 December 2026 via the no-obligation marketing scan on this site.

The Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027

The Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027 (Dutch-language edition) is written for franchisors, chain marketing managers, field marketers and local SEO specialists working for organisations with ten or more locations. It is expressly not a book for the business owner with a single shop. No technical knowledge is required: the book helps decision-makers ask their agency the right questions and set out the division of tasks between head office and franchisee.

The second edition has 373 pages with 69 chapters in twelve parts and 17 appendices with checklists, test protocols, schema templates and template texts. New additions include the chapters on the review provisions that became visible in April 2026, the Dutch Franchise Act in relation to local SEO, and a detailed 90-day plan and 12-month plan. Previously published: Local SEO 2026 voor Franchiseketens (Dutch-language edition); all titles are listed on Gijs's books on franchise marketing.

Limited preview: browse the table of contents

Curious about exactly what is inside? Below you can see the front matter and the first three parts in full. The remaining parts are shown by title only. Six chapters, including the ten questions for your agency and chapters 1 to 5, can be read free of charge on the author's site (in Dutch).

Author

Gijs Bodenstaff

Edition

2nd edition, paperback, 21 September 2026 (Dutch-language)

Length

373 pages, 69 chapters in 12 parts, 17 appendices

Publisher

LocalSEOLab Publishing

ISBN-13

979-8176015843

ASIN

B0HKM43FJ7

Table of contents · limited preview

Front matter

• Start here: the ten questions for your agency

Part I: The playing field (chapters 1-5)

1. What has changed since the first edition
2. The franchise paradox in 2027
3. The Netherlands is not America
4. The European results page
5. How Google assesses a location in 2027

Part II: The foundation at scale (chapters 6-11)

6. Account architecture for chains
7. Verification and suspension
8. Categories and the category test protocol
9. Name, opening hours and the factors that carry the most weight
10. Photos, video and visual proof
11. Services, products and review questions

Part III: Entities and the knowledge graph (chapters 12-16)

12. From strings to things
13. Dutch entity infrastructure
14. Schema.org for chains
15. Citations are back: but for something else
16. NAP consistency as a data discipline

Only in the book: chapters 17 to 69 and the 17 appendices with checklists, test protocols and schema templates.

• Part IV: AI visibility per location
• Part V: Reviews under new law
• Part VI: Website, location pages and intent pages
• Part VII: Governance: who decides, who pays
• Part VIII: Measuring and proving
• Part IX: In-depth topics
• Part X: Application by sector
• Part XI: Execution
• Part XII: What lies ahead

Order the handbook on AmazonRequest a workshopRead 6 chapters free

What visitors wanted to know after the presentation

After the presentation, many visitors stayed behind with a question. The questions that came up most often say a lot about the issues franchise organisations are currently facing. I have listed the most important ones here, with the short answer I gave on the spot.

• Does every location need its own Google Business Profile? Yes, and head office must own the account. Otherwise you lose control as soon as a franchisee leaves.
• Can we see whether ChatGPT mentions our locations? Yes, by asking fixed local questions for each location and recording the answers. The book contains a measurement protocol for this.
• Who should respond to reviews? That is a choice for each franchise brand, but without a fixed agreement and response time, it does not happen. A process works better than a good intention.
• Is a store locator enough? Usually not. A standalone map with addresses gives Google and AI systems too little information per location.

Do you recognise these questions? Then there is a good chance that your franchise brand can achieve quick wins.

After the fair: three ways to take the next step

Not everyone has time to read a 373-page book. That is why there are three routes, depending on how much time and knowledge you have in-house.

1. Do it yourself. Order the handbook, start with the ten questions for your agency and work through the 90-day plan with your own team.
2. Together with your team. Request the workshop. In one half-day session, we translate the book to your locations and you go home with a plan.
3. Outsource. Leave the work to our team. We always start with a measurement of three locations, so you know where the gains are before you commit to anything.

Whichever route you choose, the first step costs nothing. An introductory call via the calendar or a WhatsApp message is enough.

Invite me for a local SEO & GEO workshop for franchisors

After the presentation, several franchisors asked whether I could tell the same story to their own team. I can. The workshop Local SEO & GEO visibility for franchisors translates the handbook to your franchise brand, using your own locations as examples.

What you get in the workshop

• A brief analysis in advance of three of your locations in Google Maps and AI assistants.
• An explanation of the factors that carry the most weight for each location, tailored to your sector.
• A workable division of tasks between head office and franchisee, in line with franchisee support.
• A concrete action plan for the first 90 days, as a basis for creating a franchise marketing plan.

Who it is for and in what format

The workshop is intended for the franchisor's marketing team, for a franchisee day or for the board and franchisee advisory council. I come to you or give the session online. Choose the online marketing workshop for franchises for the full marketing mix or the findability per location workshop for findability per location. If you would rather not carry it out yourself afterwards, you can outsource your brand's marketing to our team; in that case, also look at prices per location per month.

Request a workshop or contact me directly

Fill in the form, book an appointment or get in touch another way. I respond within one working day.

• Book a 30-minute introductory call
• Send a WhatsApp message
• Call 06 - 38 04 83 47 (7 days a week, 08:00 to 19:00)
• Email info@franchiseseo.nl