App Store localization, researched market by market
Keyword research and creative adaptation per storefront. Keywords are researched in each market rather than translated, because people search differently in every country, and your first three screenshots are adapted to read as native.
Included in Full-Stack (up to 10 markets) · Month-to-month · No long-term contracts
Translation converts your meaning. Localization finds the words people in one storefront actually type. In our September 2026 check, Google Translate's version of 12 common app keywords appeared verbatim in Apple's autocomplete in only 44 of 84 storefront checks (52%). So we translate descriptions, and research the name, subtitle and keyword field storefront by storefront.
What you get
A market plan: which storefronts to localize first, scored on your own traffic and conversion gaps.
Native keyword research per storefront for the name, subtitle and keyword field.
Cross-localization: filling the extra keyword fields each storefront reads. The US reads ten.
Localized screenshots, starting with the first three frames.
Localized custom product pages where a market's traffic justifies one.
Rankings and conversion tracked per market, so each language proves itself.
What's included
From choosing markets to proving each one, on both stores.
Market prioritization
For most US-first apps, English (U.K.) comes first: no translation, and it's read in 172 of 175 storefronts. Then French, Japanese or Spanish (Mexico), depending on where your traffic already comes from.
Native keyword research
Autocomplete, top-app titles, Apple Ads popularity and local reviews, per storefront. In our check, "budget app" wasn't the local term in any of seven storefronts tested.
Cross-localization
The US storefront reads ten localizations, each with its own keyword field, and keywords don't combine across them. See every storefront in our free cross-localization explorer.
Screenshot localization
Translate, then localize, then culturalize. We start with caption text on the first three frames, then in-app UI, then imagery, in order of impact per unit of effort.
Localized custom product pages
A custom product page's localizations live inside the page, so a market-specific page doesn't use up extra slots of the 70 allowed. With linked keywords it can rank in that storefront's organic search.
Both stores, kept current
Localized Google Play listings and experiments, and release notes batched across languages so upkeep stays affordable as you ship.
What to localize, and how
Not every part of a listing needs the same treatment. Rankings are won in a few fields, so that's where native research goes; the rest can be translated well and cheaply.
Asset
Approach
Why
Name, subtitle, keyword field
Native keyword research per storefront
This is where rankings are won. A correct translation that locals don't type costs you the ranking.
Description, promotional text
Machine translation, post-edited by a person
Not indexed for App Store search. A full text set is about 720 words: $110–$215 by hand, about $86 post-edited (Smartling, 2026).
Screenshots
Captions first, then UI, then imagery
Localized on-image text alone captures most of the install lift of full listing localization (Digital Applied, 2026).
Custom product pages
Only for markets already sending traffic
Prioritized by existing traffic times the conversion gap, divided by effort.
Choosing markets
We pick markets from your data, not a map. Storefronts that already send you traffic to an English page, with conversion lagging behind your home market, are where localization pays back first. Apple's own structure matters too: Spanish (Mexico) is read in 19 storefronts including the US, while Spanish (Spain) is read only in Spain. Our guide to which languages to localize first has the full ranking.
About the +128% number
The most-quoted localization stat, a 128% download lift, comes from a one-week 2012 Distimo study of about 200 iPhone apps, and iPad apps saw no significant growth. Treat it as direction, not a forecast. We measure each new market against its own baseline instead.
How an engagement runs
The first two weeks choose your markets and research the first ones. After that, each release ships localized metadata and creative, and each market is judged on its own numbers.
01 · Week 1
Market selection
Traffic and conversion by storefront, the localizations you ship today, and the cross-localization fields you leave empty.
02 · Week 2
Keyword research
Native keyword research for the first markets: name, subtitle and keyword field for each storefront.
03 · Each release
Ship localized
Localized metadata and screenshots go live, first three frames first, with custom product pages where traffic justifies them.
04 · Monthly
Measure & expand
Rankings, conversion and installs per market, and the next market in line once the current ones prove out.
Pricing
Localization for up to 10 markets is part of our Full-Stack plan, together with ongoing ASO, Apple Search Ads management and custom product pages. Month-to-month, cancel anytime.
This covers your store presence: metadata, keywords, screenshots and custom product pages. Translating the app itself is a separate project. More than 10 markets, or localization on its own? Ask about custom pricing.
Includes localization
Full-Stack
$7,990 /month
Everything in Growth, plus paid search and global reach.
ASO localization is adapting your store listing for each market: researching the keywords people in that storefront actually search, writing the name, subtitle and keyword field around them, and localizing screenshots and other creative. It differs from translation, which converts meaning rather than matching local search behavior.
Which languages should we localize our app into first?
For most US-first apps, English (U.K.): it needs no translation and is read in 172 of 175 App Store storefronts. After that, French, Japanese or Spanish (Mexico), whichever your own traffic favors.
Can we use Google Translate or an LLM for App Store keywords?
Only as a starting list. In our September 2026 check, Google Translate's version of common app keywords appeared verbatim in Apple's autocomplete in 44 of 84 storefront checks. Use machine translation for descriptions, and research the name, subtitle and keyword field per storefront.
What is App Store cross-localization?
Cross-localization means one storefront reads the metadata of more than one localization. The US storefront reads ten, each with its own name, subtitle and keyword field, so filling the extra fields with distinct, relevant keywords widens what you can rank for. Explore every storefront with our cross-localization explorer.
Is App Store localization worth it?
Usually, for the listing. A full App Store text set is about 720 words, roughly $110–$215 per language at human rates (Smartling, 2026). At Western Europe's median day-60 revenue per install of $0.33 (RevenueCat, 2026), about 650 extra installs repay it.
How much do your localization services cost?
Localization for up to 10 markets is included in our Full-Stack plan at $7,990 per month, along with ongoing ASO, Apple Search Ads management and custom product pages. It's month-to-month. For more markets or localization on its own, ask about custom pricing.
Localization guides
Which languages to start with, how cross-localization works, and what each tier of localization costs.
Book a free 30-minute call. Tell us where your traffic comes from and we'll show you which storefront we'd localize first, and which keyword fields you're leaving empty today. No commitment.
