About STARK · Digital agency Heidelberg
Growth that pays off.*
One team takes care of your entire online marketing: SEO, Google Ads, web design and social. We back every recommendation with figures and tell you honestly up front what is worth it and what is not. The first audit costs you nothing.
* We are an agency, not a miracle worker. We do not promise specific rankings or turnover figures within a fixed timeframe – that would be unprofessional. What you get from us: an honest audit, clean implementation and figures that you can check for yourself.
Marketing is exhausting. Especially when you’ve been doing it for ten years.
If you’re reading this page right now, you’ve probably already worked with two or three agencies. Most of them suggested whatever happened to be in their portfolio. Some sold you LinkedIn carousel hacks. One might have had a nice founder, but no team behind them.
We know this because we experienced it on our own projects too. Before we founded STARK in 2016.
What you probably don’t want:
- An agency that sends you reports but doesn’t explain what they mean.
- Four different contacts for SEO, ads, design and social.
- Pretty PowerPoints about "holistic growth strategies".
- 12-month contracts before anything has been delivered.
- Pitches that make it sound as if everything will grow within four weeks.
What we try to do instead:
- One member of the team is your point of contact. Across all four disciplines.
- You’ll receive a weekly update. Even if nothing major has happened.
- We talk about figures rather than adjectives. That’s why we set up tracking first.
- No twelve-month lock-in: cancellable quarterly. We have to win you over with results.
- If the audit shows that we are not the right partner, we will say so. And we will refer you elsewhere with a recommendation.
Sounds unspectacular? It is. Marketing is a craft and has long since stopped being a miracle business. We practise this craft so carefully that it pays off for you.
~ Joshua
Joshua Stark · Managing Director · stark.marketing GmbH
Done-for-you or hand-in-hand. Both work.
Some clients want a team to take care of everything. Others want a sounding board for their in-house set-up. We do both, but never both at the same time for a single client, as otherwise no one would know exactly who is responsible for what.
STARK takes over
We take care of set-up, management and optimisation. You get the results and an update every week.
- One dedicated contact for all four disciplines
- Weekly stand-up calls, monthly strategy review
- Full tool licences (Sistrix, Ahrefs, GTM, Looker) included in the retainer
- Direct WhatsApp channel to the team
- Cancellable quarterly, no long contract terms
- Audit guarantee on the first audit (see below)
Monthly · 90-day minimum term
Request a consultation →STARK supports
We provide the audit, roadmap and setup; your team will carry out the implementation. We’re on hand as a sparring partner should you have any questions.
- 40-page audit PDF with a prioritised roadmap
- 4-hour workshop for your in-house team
- Tool stack recommendation & setup guide
- 30 days of WhatsApp support for follow-up questions
- Optional 90-day retainer afterwards
- No ongoing obligations
One-off · no ongoing commitment
Request the audit package →What we actually do.
You can book each discipline individually, but they are most effective when used in combination with the others. You can find details on the relevant service page.
SEO & Authority
Visibility that lastsTechnical audits, topic hubs and content that leads people to your topics. For local businesses, B2B and e-commerce. A median of +340% visibility after twelve months.
Web design
Built fast and cleanBuilt with Astro, Next.js or headless Shopify. Fast loading times and a structure that guides visitors to enquire - planned in from the very first sketch.
Performance
Ads that pay offGoogle & Bing Ads and Performance Max, managed according to margin and customer value. This includes server-side tracking that actually measures performance.
Social Ads
A steady stream of new creativesMeta, TikTok and LinkedIn. We keep supplying new creatives and replace whatever wears out - so the campaign doesn't collapse because of its imagery.
Video production
Our division: Stark ProductionsCorporate films, recruitment films, product videos and social content from a single source - produced by Stark Productions, our video production division for the Rhine-Neckar region.
The same people for web, SEO and ads.
We don't pass your project on to freelancers, and we don't have departmental boundaries either. Whoever plans it also delivers it, at one table in Heidelberg.
The STARK playbook. Six steps, refined since 2016.
We have supported over 150 projects. This has resulted in a playbook that we apply to every new project – and tailor individually to each one.
Six steps that every project goes through.
Instead of pitches and PowerPoints, there is a proven process from audit to scaling. You always know which phase we are in and what comes next.
See the playbook in action →Honest figures. Median, not best-case.
Across all projects from the last 24 months. We don't cherry-pick. If a project went less well, it goes into the median. That's why our figures look more sober than the "+1000% success stories" of other agencies.
Rooted locally, booked nationwide.
Our office is on the Neckar; our clients are spread across the DACH region. For us, being close means short lines of communication and genuinely being reachable – not a postcode on a business card. As an advertising agency in Heidelberg, we know the regional market and help local businesses become visible in the region with targeted local SEO support. Outside the region we work in exactly the same way, for example with social ads for clients across Germany. There are dedicated pages for the SEO agency in Mannheim, the SEO agency in Stuttgart and the SEO agency in Frankfurt, as well as for clients in Hamburg and clients in Cologne.
What clients say about working with us.
Reviews from Google and ProvenExpert, translated from German.
GUARANTEE
We take the risk out of the first step.
Every project we undertake starts with a free 30-minute audit. If the audit does not identify any specific areas for improvement that would be worthwhile for you, we will refer you onwards with a recommendation – to an in-house solution, another agency or a freelancer.
You invest half an hour; we invest the time in the audit. At worst, you’ll have one more honest assessment. At best, a partner for the coming years.
The most common questions, answered honestly.
How much does it cost to work with STARK?
Done-for-you runs as monthly support with a 90-day minimum term; audit + consulting is a one-off. You will receive specific quotes after the audit, as they depend on the scope.
How quickly will we see results?
Technical SEO fixes take effect in 2 - 6 weeks. Content-driven growth in 6 - 9 months. Performance campaigns deliver the first reliable data after 4 - 6 weeks. Anyone promising you "results in 30 days" is either only showing you their best cases or isn't being serious.
Do we have to commit to a 12-month contract?
No. Minimum term of 90 days, after which the contract can be terminated on a quarterly basis. We want you to stay because it works, not because a contract is keeping you here.
We already have an agency. How does switching work?
Audit first. If our audit shows that your current agency is doing good work, we'll tell you. If switching makes sense, we handle the handover: we migrate assets and accounts and make sure the strategy continues without interruption.
What if I only need one discipline (e.g. SEO)?
That's fine, every discipline can be booked individually. In our experience, the combination delivers more, because we feed SEO data into ad management and vice versa. Businesses that want to be found locally often start with local SEO and an optimised Google Business Profile as the first lever.
Do you only work with SMEs or with start-ups too?
Both, but the typical client has an annual turnover of around €2 million or more. We are often not the right fit financially for very early-stage start-ups – in such cases, we prefer to recommend a freelancer network or building up an in-house team.
Who on the team actually works on my project?
You will have a dedicated account lead from the senior team, plus two to four specialists depending on the scope. No ‘senior sells, junior does the work’ mentality. You’ll get to know your specific team at the kick-off meeting.
What if our audit shows that we're not ready yet?
We'll tell you honestly. Plus, we'll give you a roadmap of what you can do yourself before an agency makes sense. Perhaps we'll see each other again in 12 months.
30-minute audit call.
Free and without obligation.
We’ll take a look at your current situation together and let you know whether we’re the right partner for you. If not, you’ll still have an audit PDF to help you move forward.
