Franchise Marketing Bureau is a full-service online marketing agency for franchisors and franchise marketers, with an office in Utrecht. We take over two tasks: the online marketing of head office and locations, and the online recruitment of new franchisees. Founder Gijs Bodenstaff has worked in online marketing since 1998.
Who are we and what do we do for franchise brands?
We are a small, specialised team that does everything measurable online for a franchise organisation. Think of Google, Google Maps, Bing Places, Apple Maps, AI assistants, social media and online advertising. Every location gets its own dashboard, so head office can see per location what works.
Our clients are head offices and marketers of franchise brands. We do not work for independent businesses outside franchising. With every assignment we learn more about how head office keeps control while each location gets room to act locally.
Our founder built and marketed his own franchise brand in 2010. That experience as a franchisor, together with more than 20 years of online marketing, shapes how we work: based on measurable results and ROI, not on an annual contract.
Founder Gijs Bodenstaff with his handbook on Local SEO and GEO for franchise chains (Dutch-language edition).
Which specialists work in our team?
Everyone in the team has their own discipline. Together we cover strategy, local visibility, advertising and research. Read more about the background of founder Gijs.
The Franchise Marketing Bureau team and their roles
Name
Role
Background
Gijs Bodenstaff
Founder and strategist
Started online in 1998, specialised in local search since 2010; was a franchisor himself
Angela
Local SEO analyst
Active in digital since 2013; Gall & Gall and then four years of agency work
Elisabeth
Local advertising specialist
Based in Amersfoort: bidding strategy, campaign management and Google Ads per region
Peter
Local SEO specialist
Trained at Linkbuilding Specialist; white-hat links and algorithm updates
Stanley Leijnse
Researcher
Amsterdam-based, active in local search and GEO since 2010; chairs Stichting LODAK
Ten freelancers (regular)
Delivery and content
Trained by us in our methods and quality control rules
How do we work with franchise organisations?
We always start with a baseline measurement per location, then test with a group of locations and only roll out once the figures add up. See our four-phase approach for what you get at each step.
Repetitive work such as collecting data, flagging anomalies and reporting is supported by AI. Strategy, quality control and contact remain human work. Read how we deploy AI and where the limits lie.
Where can you find our office and our network?
Our office is at St Jacobsstraat 123-135 in Utrecht. You can visit our office in Utrecht by appointment. Alongside this agency, Gijs manages a number of his own websites on franchising, Local SEO and AI visibility. View the franchise sites in our network to see how they complement each other.
The entrance of the Evenementenhal Gorinchem at De Nationale Franchise Beurs, with the roll-up banner of our network agency FranchiseSEO.nl.
Questions about the agency and the team
Where is Franchise Marketing Bureau based?
Our office is at St Jacobsstraat 123-135, 3511 BP Utrecht. We work for franchise brands throughout the Netherlands, so most meetings take place online. If you would like to visit us in Utrecht, schedule an appointment in advance via Calendly or simply send us a WhatsApp message.
Who founded the agency?
Gijs Bodenstaff founded the agency. His first online projects date from 1998. Later, local visibility became his specialism and he was himself the franchisor of a European franchise brand. As a result he knows both the head office side and the day-to-day reality of a location that has to attract customers locally.
How much online marketing experience does the team have?
Together the team has more than twenty years of experience in online marketing. Gijs started in 1998. Stanley and Gijs both specialised in local search in 2010, and Angela joined as a digital marketer in 2013. We put that experience to work for franchise brands with multiple locations.
Does the agency also work for businesses outside franchising?
No, we focus on franchisors, head offices and franchise marketers. Franchise brands have their own challenges, such as central control over brand communications, consistent quality per location and recruiting new franchisees. By working only for them, we can tailor our methods and reporting precisely to those needs.
What is Angela's role in the team?
Angela is a Local SEO analyst. Her career in digital began in 2013. She worked at Gall & Gall, among others, and then spent four years at an agency. With us she analyses profiles and locations, plans content and helps with local Facebook Ads, email and conversion optimisation.
What does Elisabeth focus on?
Elisabeth is a local advertising specialist and works from Amersfoort. She sets up local Google Ads campaigns per location, determines the bidding strategy and manages the campaigns. Her work comes at a fixed monthly price on quote; the budget for the ads themselves goes directly to Google.
What is Peter's specialism?
Peter is a Local SEO specialist. He was trained at Linkbuilding Specialist, once set up by Gijs. His focus is on white-hat link building and following algorithm updates, so that locations and the brand website are not caught out by changes in Google.
What role does Stanley Leijnse have?
Stanley Leijnse is the agency's researcher. Based in Amsterdam, he has worked on local visibility and GEO since 2010. He is chair of Stichting LODAK and co-wrote the book Local SEO & GEO voor Franchiseketens 2026 (Dutch-language edition). He makes sure our approach is based on measurements rather than assumptions.
Who carries out the daily work alongside the core team?
Ten freelancers, trained by us, complement the core team. Exactly the same quality control rules and checklists apply to them as to the team. That way we can handle peaks during a roll-out across many locations without the quality per location dropping.
Does the team use AI in its work for franchise brands?
Yes, AI helps us collect data, flag anomalies across all profiles and create draft texts per location. No text goes live without being checked by a colleague. Strategy, quality control and client contact are always handled by us, not by a system.
Name three locations and your main search term. We measure them in Google, Google Maps, Apple Maps, Bing and AI assistants and discuss the outcome within five working days in thirty minutes.
