Matt
Timmermans
I help businesses get found in Google and AI search. I’m also the founder of GiveRadar, the charity database built on official government data.
- SEO & GEOnonprofit data, AI, web development
- Timmermans Media & GiveRadarSEO and GEO agency, charity database
What I do
SEO & GEO
Getting businesses found on Google and in AI-generated answers from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. Through Timmermans Media I combine traditional SEO with generative engine optimization (GEO), for brands like Business Insider, Bitvavo and Coinmerce.
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Generative engine optimization (GEO)
- AI search visibility
- LLM optimization
Nonprofit data
Making charity data open and verifiable. With GiveRadar I bring together official charity registers from governments and tax authorities, so anyone can check whether a charity is officially registered before they donate.
- Charity transparency
- Charity registers
- Open government data
- Nonprofit data
Background
I’m a Dutch SEO and GEO expert based in Bali, Indonesia, and the founder of Timmermans Media and GiveRadar. What started with building websites during my studies grew into a deep focus on how people, and now AI systems, find things online.
- 2018
Founded Timmermans Media
Started the agency as a student, building and selling websites in HTML, JavaScript and PHP. Web design quickly turned into a focus on SEO and content marketing.
- 2020
Graduated and went full time
Graduated with a Bachelor of Science in ICT & Media Design from Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven, specializing in marketing and cybersecurity, and started working on the agency full time.
- 2022
Founded Own Property Abroad
A platform helping investors navigate real estate markets in Southeast Asia. It became my testing ground for search strategies and led to my first software product, LandLoom, a market analysis dashboard for the Bali property market. Sold in 2025.
- 2024
Specialized in GEO
Specialized in generative engine optimization (GEO) and LLM optimization: the discipline that determines whether AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention your brand. It has been at the core of my agency work ever since.
- 2025
Launched Runami and Noisely
Launched Runami, an AI running coach born from my marathon training, and Noisely, a B2B feedback tool that helps businesses understand what the internet says about them.
- 2026
Founded GiveRadar
Founded GiveRadar, a global charity database and nonprofit search and verification platform, built on official government registries and tax authorities.
- Now
Search and nonprofit data
Today my work comes down to two things: helping businesses get found in Google and AI search through Timmermans Media, and making nonprofit data open and verifiable through GiveRadar.
Companies
Timmermans Media
FounderSEO and GEO agency specializing in visibility in traditional and AI search engines. Founded in 2018. Clients include Business Insider, Bitvavo, HEMA and Coinmerce.
timmermansmedia.nlGiveRadar
FounderGlobal charity database and nonprofit search and verification platform, built on official registers from governments and tax authorities. Founded in 2026.
giveradar.comPreviously
Own Property Abroad
FounderPlatform helping investors navigate real estate markets in Southeast Asia. Its market analysis dashboard for the Bali property market, LandLoom, was my first software product. Founded in 2022, sold in 2025.
ownpropertyabroad.comRunami
CreatorAI running coach that grew out of my own marathon training. Built in 2025, discontinued.
Research
Original research behind my GEO work and GiveRadar, published open access with data and DOIs.
- Report AI answers about Dutch brands, tested against verified facts: 1,917 responses from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity
- Dataset Merken en bronnen in AI-antwoorden van ChatGPT, Gemini en Perplexity in Nederland: data en analyseData and analysis on brands and sources in AI answers in the Netherlands
- Report Global Charity Register Transparency Index 2026 (Edition 1)
All publications are listed on my About page and on ORCID.
In the media
I write about SEO, GEO and AI search for Dutch business media, and give interviews about GiveRadar and building businesses from abroad.
SEO & GEO
- ICT Magazine 'AI-chatbots citeren kleine websites wel, maar herhalen vooral de grote': ICT Magazine on my study of 400 Dutch questions, where a small website showed up in 1.6 ChatGPT answers on average and a large one in 9.3
- Emerce 'AI-chatbots verwijzen regelmatig naar websites met weinig Google-verkeer': Emerce on my study, where 37% of the websites ChatGPT cited had fewer than 1,000 monthly visits from Google
- Adformatie 'Goede positie in Google geen garantie op citatie in AI-zoekmachines': Adformatie on my study of 400 Dutch questions, where the Google #1 was cited in only 6.7% of ChatGPT answers
- AI-boys Do you still need an SEO specialist? Back with host Elwin on ads in ChatGPT, why AI content drops after a few weeks, and my research on Reddit and llms.txt as AI sources
- AI-boys Why I'm quitting Perplexity: host Elwin and I discuss my study of almost 2,000 AI answers about Dutch brands, and why AI repeats outdated information more often than it makes things up
- De Grote B2B Marketing Show Episode 42 on getting found by AI: what B2B marketers should do differently than with SEO to show up in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity
- Frankwatching 'AI vertelt klanten vooral verouderde informatie over merken': my byline on why outdated facts, not fabrication, are AI's real brand-accuracy problem
- BNR Nieuwsradio 'AI-chatbots veranderen het internet, maar SEO blijft belangrijk': quoted on why a chatbot gives one answer, and how brands earn a place in it
- De Technoloog Matt Timmermans on going from SEO to GEO and how brands become visible in AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude
GiveRadar
Running and life abroad
- Noordhollands Dagblad 'Ik ga het leven leiden zoals ik dat zelf wil': living and working around the world
- deZZP 'Om vakantie te hebben, moet ik weg uit Bali'
- RunningNL 'Matt Timmermans ontdekt Indonesië op hardloopschoenen': magazine feature on Indonesia's fast-growing running culture, with my photos
- RunningBE 'Indonesië op loopschoenen': running between Buddhist temples, rice fields and volcanoes, in the Belgian edition
- AD / Brabants Dagblad 'Levensgevaarlijk soms, maar de sfeer is heel gaaf': running marathons in the world's strangest countries
- Brabants Centrum Digital nomad Matt Timmermans uit Boxtel: 'Hardlopen is een gezonde verslaving'
- ProRun Hoe een jongen uit Boxtel pacer werd op een halve marathon in een Indonesisch dorp
Beyond work
I live and work from Bali, Indonesia, and I run marathons in countries most people wouldn’t think to look for one, from Tokyo to an Indonesian village half marathon as a pacer. My first marathon in Tokyo in 2025 raised training questions that grew into Runami, my AI running coach. That is how most of my products start: as a personal need I take seriously. Outside of work I train at the gym, play guitar and piano, and read a lot, mostly on spirituality, business and history. Traveling shapes how I think; Japan, Australia and Lebanon left the biggest mark.
In November 2026 I ran the New York City Marathon to raise money for Pencils of Promise, to build schools in Laos, Ghana and Guatemala. Laos is a country I’ve visited myself. I met my fundraising goal and finished in 3:24:30. Researching charities for that campaign is also what led me to build GiveRadar. The campaign is still on my GoFundMe page.
Let’s talk
Want your business to be found in Google and AI search, or want to talk about GiveRadar and nonprofit data? Reach out. I’ll show you what’s possible.