Currently, there are more than 2.5 million apps in the Android App Store. To get your app noticed among these huge numbers of Android apps is no easy feat. It can be pretty intimidating for a new app to get its own audience base.
Localization of apps is a form of ASO (App Store Optimization) and is crucial to cut down the number of apps you have to be up against. This can significantly increase the app visibility and improve its number of downloads. There are a lot of services that can help you with Android App Localization. You can also make use of localization services provided by the Google Play Developer Console.
Whatever the kind of services you use, it is important to localize your app based on specific locations to gain more users. Here are a few tips to help you get started with Android App Localization.
User Is the Focus
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It is pretty obvious that everything revolves around the users. So, the very first you need to know for localization is to gain a good understanding of your target audience. Knowing the local way of conversation – their lingos – is essential to customize your app according to the local people. If you do not have such information, it is important to start collecting it immediately.
Avoid using free tools to translate the content into other languages as the user experience probably won’t improve. However, if you do so, your app wouldn’t appear in the searches as often as you want to.
Have a good understanding of the native language or at least the way it works. You can also hire some good native translators who can do a good job of translating the content to the local language. Whatever ways you use for content translation, always keep in mind to use the kind of slang the local people often use.
Related content: 9 effective techniques to get more mobile app downloads
Optimizing the App Title and Description
Did you know that 53% of downloads from the Google Play Store start with searches?
When users search for a particular type of app in the Play Store, there are a lot of factors that influence the order in which the results are listed. It is termed as App Store Optimization (ASO) where the app will be optimized based on a number of criteria to get listed in the Play Store Searches. This is similar to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) used on websites.
One of the most important factors in ASO is the app title. It does not only influence the apps’ ranking but it can also attract new users. Therefore, when applying localization, it is important to choose an app title which the user can easily relate to and something which could be the answer they were looking for.
Insert keywords in the title and make it seem relatable and natural. Do not use more than 30 characters for the app title if you want it to appear fully in the Google Play Store… Also, keep in mind the number of characters that appear in mobile searches as the mobile downloads will generally be higher. Try to keep the app title casual, easy to read and accurate to your target users.
Similarly, write the app description in a natural and conversational way in the native language. Google Play Store will consider the keywords in the app description too. Therefore, include some of the main keywords occasionally without forcing them. Do not spam the description with too many keywords and make sure that you adhere to the Google Metadata Policy.
ASO by Localizing the App Content
Positioning your app better in the Google Play Store can increase the number of downloads. However, in order to increase the number of frequent users, you will need to meet their expectations and fulfil their needs.
Besides, depending on your app, there can be various changes or trends you need to bear in mind apart from adjusting the app content to the local target audience. For example, if you are localizing a fitness app, then you need to make sure that the measurements you include are the right ones. Similarly, if you have a trading news app, then the currency you mention should be the local one.
Conclusion
These are just some broad ideas where you need to optimize the app’s content. There may be many small details that may need localization.
Therefore, ensure to have some beta users from the local area before you release an Android app. This way you can get feedback from them and change every single detail according to the location so that it looks and works like a local app.
Instead of fighting against all the apps in your category with generalized content, localization can help you increase the traffic to your application’s download page and boost its downloads.