What Sutter Local Media does

Sutter Local Media, operating under the legal entity Sutter Telefonbuchverlag GmbH, is a German digital marketing services provider headquartered in Essen. Founded in 1927 as a print directory publisher, the company today sells a modular digital marketing portfolio to small and medium-sized businesses (KMU) across Germany, including online directory packages in Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, and Das Oertliche, custom websites (via the Websmart subsidiary), SEO, social media campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, Google Ads/SEA, video production, addressable TV, reputation management, and GDPR compliance packages. The company retains ownership of three of Germany's most recognized local directory brands, whose listings function as Google-authoritative data sources providing SEO authority signals to clients.

The product architecture follows a platform-plus-modules model: directory packages and websites form the core subscription foundation, with SEO, social media, advertising, video, and reputation services sold as add-ons or bundled into SELLWERK PRIME. Revenue is generated primarily through annual and monthly recurring subscriptions for directory packages, SEO, social media, and the bundled PRIME package, supplemented by one-time project fees for website builds and video/photography production, plus usage-based media budgets on Google Ads. Distribution is hybrid: five regional sales offices (Essen, Stuttgart, Detmold, Potsdam, Dorsten) provide consultative direct sales, the wholly-owned Websmart subsidiary delivers web infrastructure, the SELLWERK partnership extends reach as a channel, and the Sutter Connect portal (hosted on Mono Solutions, Denmark) offers self-service account management.

The company is a private German GmbH with 251–500 employees, no disclosed external funding, and no parent company. Management comprises four Managing Directors of Sutter Telefonbuchverlag GmbH (Bernhard Lüders, Sandra Napierski, Karsten Marquardsen, Arndt Oldenburg) and one Managing Director of Websmart (Cornelia Blümer). Technology infrastructure is conventional agency stack — WordPress with Elementor on AWS (EU), Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, and Microsoft 365 — with no disclosed proprietary AI/ML systems or data flywheel. Revenue figures, customer counts, and growth rates are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Sutter Local Media

Legal name

Sutter Telefonbuchverlag GmbH

Website

https://sutter-local-media.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1927

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sutter Local Media is a German digital marketing services provider serving small and medium-sized businesses nationwide with directory listings, websites, SEO, social media, and Google Ads, built on legacy brands Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, and Das Oertliche.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (541810), Media Buying Agencies (54183), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Search & Business Directories (BPAMAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Lead Generation & Performance Media (B2B/B2C) (MPAAACAK), Full-Service Media Planning & Buying (MPAAABAA), Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Media Buying (MPAAABAC)

Keywords

• Local digital marketing
• Online directory listings
• Website design services
• Search engine optimization
• Social media marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Essen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Online-Verzeichnis-Pakete (Online Directory Packages): Subscription-based packages that provide ongoing business listings across premium German directory brands (Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, Das Oertliche). These packages ensure consistent online visibility and improve Google search rankings for local businesses.
2. Website Creation and Hosting Services: Custom website design, development, and hosting services for small and medium-sized businesses. Provided through the Websmart subsidiary with mobile-optimized, secure, and SEO-ready websites.
3. SEO Services (Suchmaschinenoptimierung): Ongoing search engine optimization services including content analysis, technical optimization, and keyword targeting to improve organic search rankings for clients' websites.
4. Social Media Marketing (Facebook & Instagram Campaigns): Managed social media campaign services including business page creation, ongoing content production, and targeted ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram platforms.
5. Google Ads / SEA (Search Engine Advertising): Pay-per-click advertising services using Google Ads and Microsoft Ads to increase visibility in search engine results for local businesses.
6. Video and Photography Production: Professional video spot production and photography packages for use across social media, Google Business Profile, and printed marketing materials.
7. Addressable TV / TV-Banner: Television advertising product using targeted TV banners, allowing businesses to advertise to specific audience segments on TV.
8. DSGVO Datenschutz-Paket (GDPR Compliance Package): Data protection compliance package helping businesses protect against warnings/abmahnungen due to non-compliant privacy policies.
9. SELLWERK PRIME (All-in-One Package): Comprehensive bundled digital marketing package combining directory listings, websites, SEO, social media, and more into a single subscription offering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Sutter Local Media sells digital marketing packages and services to small and medium-sized businesses (KMU) across Germany. The core offering consists of online directory presence packages placing clients in Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, and Das Oertliche, complemented by custom website design, SEO, social media campaigns, Google Ads, video/photography production, and reputation management services, sold individually or bundled via the SELLWERK PRIME all-in-one package.

Product overview

Sutter Local Media operates as a comprehensive digital marketing platform offering a modular portfolio of services for small and medium-sized enterprises (KMU) in Germany. The core offering centers on Online-Verzeichnis-Pakete (online directory packages) providing presence in Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, and Das Örtliche, complemented by Homepages/Websites as the foundational digital anchor. The product suite expands through add-on modules including SEO (Suchmaschinenoptimierung), Social Media Kampagnen, Google Business Profile management, Google Ads/SEA, Local Listing, Onlinebewertungen (review management), and SELLWERK PRIME as an all-in-one package. Additional services encompass SELLWERK Jobs (talent acquisition), TV-Banner/Addressable TV, Videoproduktion, Videomarketing, Fotopaket, DSGVO Datenschutz-Paket, and Barrierefreiheitsmodul. The platform also provides Sutter Connect, a customer portal for managing listings and contracts. The architecture follows a platform-plus-modules model where directory packages and websites serve as the core foundation, while specialized services like video production, review management, and advertising operate as supplementary add-on modules that can be purchased individually or bundled through SELLWERK PRIME.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online-Verzeichnis-Pakete (Online Directory Packages)

Quantifiable outcome

• Cosmetic College Bochum generated an average of 10 new customers per monthly social media campaign, with these customers remaining as sustainable ongoing clients.

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and moderate.

• SELLWERKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSELLWERK is a strategic partnership that extends Sutter Local Media's product portfolio with additional online marketing solutions. Through SELLWERK, the company offers a comprehensive suite of digital marketing products including websites, SEO, social media marketing, and more. The partnership combines local market expertise with SELLWERK's digital solutions platform, enabling nationwide coverage and personalized local Beratung for small and medium-sized businesses in Germany.
• Websmart GmbH & Co. KGcoreTechnology or IntegrationWebsmart is a subsidiary of the Sutter group specializing in modern websites, hosting, and digital infrastructure. The subsidiary is based in Dorsten and provides the technical foundation for website creation and management services offered to Sutter Local Media clients. Websmart's team is featured as an integral part of the company group's digital capabilities.
• Deutsche Tele Medien GmbHcoreTechnology or IntegrationSutter receives business listing data from Deutsche Tele Medien GmbH (Frankfurt) for publication in the telephone directories Das Telefonbuch, Das Oertliche, and Gelbe Seiten (both print and internet). This data is provided in the framework of the civil law partnership for the joint publication of these directories.
• Google (Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, Das Oertliche as Google-authoritative sources)moderateTechnology or IntegrationSutter's directory brands (Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, Das Oertliche) are recognized by Google as authoritative and reliable data sources. Business listings in these directories provide SEO authority signals that improve clients' visibility in Google search results — a key differentiator for Sutter's local marketing services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SELLWERK: SELLWERK is Sutter's strategic distribution partner and operates the closest comparable German SMB digital-marketing platform, bundling websites, SEO, social media, and directory listings. The two go to market jointly via SELLWERK PRIME and similar KMU sales motions.
• 11880 Solutions AG: 11880.com is a direct German local search and directory competitor to Das Telefonbuch, Gelbe Seiten, and Das Oertliche, also selling digital marketing services and leads to German SMBs. Operates in the same local-discovery and KMU lead-gen category as Sutter Local Media.
• Yext, Inc. Yext is a global SaaS platform for managing business listings, local SEO, and review management across publisher networks. Directly comparable to Sutter's Local Listing, Google Business Profile, and Onlinebewertungen product modules.

Broad incumbents

• Ströer SE & Co. KGaA: Ströer is a major German outdoor and digital advertising group with significant SMB-facing marketing services. It is a broader incumbent than Sutter, operating across OOH, digital, and programmatic, with overlap on local advertising products.
• Hibu Inc. Hibu is the US yellow-pages operator (formerly Yellowbook) that pivoted to digital marketing services for SMBs, making it a structural twin of Sutter Local Media's print-to-digital journey. Comparable in customer base (US small businesses) and bundled service offering.
• Yelp, Inc. Yelp is a global consumer-facing local search and reviews platform that overlaps with Sutter's directory and review-management products. Not a full-service agency like Sutter, but a major incumbent in the local-discovery category Sutter competes in.
• GroupM (WPP): GroupM is the global media-buying arm of WPP and competes with Sutter on Google Ads/SEA, social media buying, and Addressable TV planning. A much larger incumbent focused on enterprise clients, but its KMU-facing units overlap with Sutter's media services.

Emerging players

• Trustpilot Group plc: Trustpilot is a leading review-management platform competing with Sutter's Onlinebewertungen and Bewertungen löschen modules. Focused narrowly on reviews rather than full-stack marketing, making it a partial-overlap emerging player.

Regional players

• PagesJaunes (Solocal Group): PagesJaunes is France's historic yellow-pages and local digital marketing operator, the closest geographic neighbor to Sutter in continental European directories. Serves French SMBs rather than competing in Germany.
• Swisscom Directories (local.ch): Local.ch is Switzerland's leading local search and directory platform, operating a comparable business model — directory listings plus digital marketing services for SMBs. Geographic peer serving the DACH region but not directly competing in Germany.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SutterLM
• Facebookfacebook.com/SutterLocalMedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sutter Local Media