LocalSEOLab Publishing · founder Gijs Bodenstaff
Why I started my own publishing house
I am Gijs Bodenstaff, Local Entity GEO and AI specialist, author and speaker. Since September 2026 my books on Local SEO and AI visibility have been published by LocalSEOLab Publishing, my own publishing house in Amsterdam. That was not the plan. First I approached many publishers, just as Chantal Smink once did. When that turned out slow, cautious and expensive, I took matters into my own hands. Along the way I also saw what a book with its own ISBN and a fixed publisher name does for the way Google and AI search engines recognise an expert.
My journey: from approaching publishers to a publishing house of my own
A publishing house of my own was not my plan. It became my conclusion. This is how it went, in seven steps.
Step 1 · The idea
A book about what I see working myself
I have worked on local visibility since 2010. The same questions kept coming back: why does my competitor appear in Google Maps, why does ChatGPT not mention my business? I wanted to write those answers down properly once, for the Dutch market.
Step 2 · The conversation
Chantal Smink tells me how it really goes
I started writing books because of Chantal Smink, SEO and content strategist and author of, among others, Het Contentkanon. She told me honestly how hard it is to get a book published as a writer, and certainly as a new writer. After a long detour with rejection after rejection she decided to publish her books herself. On Managementboek she is listed as the publisher of Het Contentkanon, and that book spent a week at number 1 in the marketing category.
Step 3 · The search
I approach publishers
I still wanted to try it myself. I approached many publishers with my manuscript, and then the waiting began.
Step 4 · The reality check
Slow, cautious and expensive
What I experienced was exactly what Chantal had described. Publishers are slow, cumbersome organisations. A new author with a professional book on a subject that changes every quarter is a risk to them, and they would rather not take it. And if it does work out, most of the revenue goes to the publisher. The Flemish model contract for general publications advises the author 10 to 12.5 percent of the retail price excluding VAT for print runs up to 4,000 copies. To me that is an absurdly high margin for what I get in return.
Step 5 · The turning point
Speed matters more than a logo on the spine
In my field, a book that only appears a year from now is outdated before it reaches the shop. Google and AI search engines change too fast. I reached the same conclusion as Chantal: if nobody wants to take the risk, I take it myself.
Step 6 · Self-publishing
First through Kindle Direct Publishing
On 17 July 2026 Local SEO 2026 was self-published through Amazon. For a paperback I receive 60 percent of the list price from 9.99 euros, minus printing costs. Without waiting months for a yes or no.
Step 7 · The publishing house
LocalSEOLab Publishing
Then I took the next step: a publishing house of my own with its own Dutch ISBN range. On 1 September 2026 Local Entity SEO 2027 was published by LocalSEOLab Publishing, on 9 September AI Search in de Zorg 2027. I decide when a revised edition comes out, the content is tested in my lab first, and I keep a much larger share of the revenue.
Read the transcript (translated from Dutch)
Gijs: And did you do it as a cash cow, or more to position yourself as an authority and share your story? Your philosophy. Chantal: That was really the idea: I have a philosophy, I want to write it down, so that it is bundled in one place. So that I can easily tell clients: this is my vision, this is what I stand for. Or: read it in my book, it is all there. So that was really the reason. But the other thing, of course: once you have written a book, you are suddenly seen as an authority. People really come up to me at conferences: hey, I read your book and I know who you are. That is really funny. And because you wrote that book, you get invited to podcasts. So then it all speeds each other up.
| Traditional publisher | Own publishing house | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Long wait for a response, then a production process | Revised edition as soon as the content is ready |
| Risk | Publisher prefers a known name or a safe subject | I take the risk myself |
| Author revenue | Advice: 10 to 12.5% of the retail price excl. VAT (up to 4,000 copies) | Paperback through Amazon: 60% from 9.99 euros, minus printing costs |
| Control | Title, cover and planning agreed with the publisher | Everything in my own hands, including updates |
| What you arrange yourself | Little: editing, layout and distribution are with the publisher | A lot: editing, layout, ISBN, metadata and promotion |
To be fair. A publisher does real work too: editing, layout, distribution and sometimes marketing. If you do it yourself, you have to do it well yourself. For me, speed, control and the split of the revenue weigh more.
From self-publishing to a publishing house of my own
I published my first books through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. That is fast and you get a free ISBN. What I only saw clearly later: according to Amazon, such an ISBN is registered under the imprint "Independently published". Every book then carries the same generic name as thousands of other books. For a reader that hardly matters. For a search engine trying to understand who made what, it does.
That is why I now work with my own Dutch ISBN range, 978-90-837714, under the name LocalSEOLab Publishing. The first title was Local Entity SEO 2027, the second, fully revised edition. A week later AI Search in de Zorg 2027 followed.
| Date | What | Published by |
|---|---|---|
| 17 July 2026 | Local SEO 2026 | Self-published (KDP) |
| 2 August 2026 | AI voor de uren die niemand vergoedt | Self-published (KDP) |
| 1 September 2026 | Local Entity SEO 2027, second revised edition | LocalSEOLab Publishing, ISBN 978-90-837714-0-3 |
| 9 September 2026 | AI Search in de Zorg 2027 | LocalSEOLab Publishing, ISBN 978-90-837714-4-1 |
| 21 September 2026 | Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027 and the book for lawyers, both second editions | Self-published (KDP) |
| 2 October 2026 | Book presentation of the Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027 at De Nationale Franchise Beurs in Gorinchem | n/a |
What a publishing house of your own does for your entity
Google and AI search engines work with entities: people, organisations, books and the connections between them. A book with an ISBN is such an entity. It connects an author to a subject and to a publisher. When those three are linked everywhere with the same names and links, a search engine is more likely to recognise them as one whole.
For my own publishing house that means in practice:
- the same publisher name everywhere, LocalSEOLab Publishing, and the same address: Herengracht 280 in Amsterdam;
- one fixed page with the details of the publisher, on my author site;
- the same publisher ID in the structured data of all my sites, with me as founder and the books as its publications;
- the same publisher name in the books themselves, in Google Play Books and on the sales platforms.
A knowledge panel is not guaranteed by this. It is one building block, next to my personal page, the sources about me in the media and a correct Wikidata item. How those blocks form an entity together, I explain under Local Entity SEO and the Google Knowledge Graph.
Tested first, then written
The name of the publishing house comes from LocalSEOLab, my test lab for local SEO and AI visibility. There, with the lab team, I test what is claimed about local SEO before I write it down as advice. One example is the Zoran hack: a test in which a made-up claim appeared as fact in Gemini and the Google AI Overviews within a short time. That test is in Local Entity SEO 2027.
The books of LocalSEOLab Publishing
Local Entity SEO 2027
My core handbook on Local Entity SEO: how to turn your business into an entity that Google, ChatGPT and Gemini can verify. The first title of the publishing house.
AI Search in de Zorg 2027
Written for healthcare, where the bar for trust is higher. Also in Primera shops, next to the paperback on Amazon.nl.
All my books, including the self-published ones, are on my books page.
Publishing a book yourself as an expert?
Are you a specialist who wants to publish a book that also counts for your visibility in Google and AI? You do not need to start a publishing house. What does help: an ISBN in the name of a fixed publisher, the same author name everywhere, and the book linked to your own profiles. With the Entity Service for authors and experts I help you with that, from registering an existing book to a fully published book.
More about LocalSEOLab Publishing
This page in Dutch: Waarom ik LocalSEOLab Publishing begon.
Questions about my publishing house
Why did Gijs Bodenstaff start his own publishing house?
His first books were self-published with a free Amazon ISBN, under the imprint "Independently published". With his own publishing house and a Dutch ISBN, every book carries the same publisher name. That makes the link between author, publisher and book clear to Google and AI search engines.
When was the first book published by LocalSEOLab Publishing?
The first book was Local Entity SEO 2027, the second, fully revised edition, on 1 September 2026. AI Search in de Zorg 2027 followed on 9 September 2026. Both books carry an ISBN from the Dutch range 978-90-837714.
What does a publishing house add to a knowledge panel?
A publishing house is an entity of its own with a name, an address and a founder. When books, author and publisher are linked everywhere with the same names and links, Google can recognise them more easily. A knowledge panel is not guaranteed by this; it is one of the signals.
Do you need a publishing house to publish a book with an ISBN?
No. Kindle Direct Publishing gives you a free ISBN. If you want to appear as the publisher yourself, you apply for an ISBN in the Netherlands through ISBN Nederland and state the name of your publishing house in the application.
Is LocalSEOLab Publishing open to other authors?
At the moment only my own books appear there. For experts who want to publish a book of their own and make it count in Google and AI, I offer the Entity Service: from registering a book and Wikidata to a fully published book.
Why did Gijs Bodenstaff not choose a traditional publisher?
He approached many publishers with his manuscript and found them slow and cautious: a new author with a fast-changing professional subject is a risk to them. On top of that, most of the revenue at a publisher does not go to the author. Like Chantal Smink, he chose self-publishing and then a publishing house of his own.
How do gijsbodenstaff.nl, gijs-bodenstaff.nl and localseolab.nl fit together?
gijsbodenstaff.nl is my consultancy and personal site. gijs-bodenstaff.nl is my author site with all books and the fixed details of the publishing house. localseolab.nl is my test lab, where the methods in the books are tested first. All three refer to the same person and the same publishing house.
Which books did Gijs Bodenstaff write outside the publishing house?
Self-published through Kindle Direct Publishing: Local SEO 2026, AI voor de uren die niemand vergoedt, Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027, Local SEO & AI Zichtbaarheid voor Juristen en Advocaten 2027 and Local SEO & GEO voor Franchiseketens 2026.
Where did Gijs Bodenstaff present his books?
I presented the Franchise Local SEO & GEO Handboek 2027 on 2 October 2026 in the seminar programme of De Nationale Franchise Beurs in Gorinchem. The book page on gijs-bodenstaff.nl has a video of that presentation.
How do I contact the publishing house about a book?
Email info@gijsbodenstaff.nl or call +31 6 38048347. The address of the publishing house is Herengracht 280, 1016 BX Amsterdam. Use the same contact details for a review copy, an interview or a talk about one of the books.
Sources
- Managementboek: Het Contentkanon, publisher Chantal Smink. Publisher, publication date 29 May 2025 and the number 1 position in marketing.
- Chantal Smink: about Chantal. Background, books and podcast of Chantal Smink.
- Notes to the model contract for general publications (VAV, VUV and GAU). Advisory author royalties as a percentage of the retail price excluding VAT.
- Amazon KDP Help: Paperback Royalty. 50 or 60 percent royalty on paperbacks, minus printing costs.
- Amazon KDP Help: Get an ISBN. A free KDP ISBN is registered with Bowker under the imprint "Independently published".
- ISBN Nederland (isbn.nl), run by CB. Applying for and registering an ISBN in the Netherlands.
- Amazon.nl: Local Entity SEO 2027 (paperback). ISBN 978-90-837714-0-3, 335 pages.
- Amazon.nl: AI Search in de Zorg 2027 (paperback). ISBN 978-90-837714-4-1, 448 pages.
- Amazon author page of Gijs Bodenstaff. All editions in one place.