5 Tricks for Successful App Localization

When you launch an app in the App Store or Google Play Store, there’s a lot that has to go behind your ASO. But the ASO game becomes a whole different ballpark when you try to take your app from your local/national app store to a global app store. This is where localization comes in — tailoring your app and you ASO to fit in best with whichever country it happens to now be in. 

Check out our tips below to find out how to best localize your app’s ASO Strategy:

1. Avoid Google translate

There are somethings that Google just can’t cover the void between and languages is one of them. Take Pepsi for example: they tried to run a campaign with the slogan, “Pepsi brings you back to life,” in China, but ended up accidentally running the slogan, “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave.” Not great in a culture that puts high value on their ancestors.

This also applies to keywords for your ASO strategy. Keep in mind that not all English words & phrases have a direct translation, and it’s rare that the 100% direct translation will be the high volume search term in those countries. Ultimately, avoid Google Translate when it comes to ASO!

2. Research keywords in different countries using Apple Search Ads

Apple Search Ads is now available in 59 different countries, which means the “Search Popularity” score is now available in all of those countries! The Search Ads platform provides a “dot” system for displaying the Search Popularity, which can make it difficult to identify the valuable keywords. The good news? We created a simple Chrome extension that adds the numerical score for each keyword directly into the web page for you! You can download the Search Ads Volume extension from the Chrome Web Store.

3. Highlight keywords & features relevant to each country

If you have a language learning app, then a high-volume and relevant keyword might be “learn spanish”. While “learn spanish” might have high volume in America, it probably won’t be as high in different countries. By researching country-specific keyword volumes in the Apple Search Ads platform, you can determine the high-volume keywords that you should focus on in your app’s listing. As an example, in your language learning app, there is very high volume for the keyword “learn english” in India.

4. Tailor screenshots for each country

Going back to our concept of a language learning app, the screenshots should align with the keyword strategy. You do NOT have to have the same screenshots across different countries. It’s generally a pretty good strategy to try and mix things up with your screenshots. Identify user sentiment and feedback about features and likes/dislikes. In our language learning example, highlight the different “courses” or “lessons” inside that app that focus on Spanish in the US, “English” in India and each language specific to other countries.

5. Find locals that are willing to help

Obviously there are linguistical and cultural nuances that you, or anyone, as a foreigner in a country might miss. Try to leverage your network (or build it!) to find someone in-country that can help you with your localization efforts. Having a local-speaker on the ground in foreign countries is also a great way to identify trends and high volume keywords.

Running a successful ASO strategy take a bit of time, energy and research. Trying to do ASO for a country that you’ve never been to with a language you don’t fluently speak can be even tougher. Hopefully these 5 quick tips help you see your app succeed abroad as well as at home.

Still struggling with localization? Click here to set up a free consultation with our ASO experts!