If you want to grow an app that has global appeal, incorporating app localization into your ASO strategy is not only important, it’s a must.

Both Android app localization and iOS app localization require time and effort. App localization goes way beyond translation. It takes a solid ASO strategy that’s based on market research, competitor analysis and ongoing keyword research.

Read on to find out how we increased global app downloads by 101% for casual game app, Coin Splash through expert ASO app localization techniques.

This post was first published on appgrowthnetwork.com.

First, let’s quickly cover some basics….

What is app localization?

App localization is the process of adapting your mobile app to penetrate different countries by making it appealing to local users. This means using their own language, incorporating cultural nuances and adjusting keywords into their own search terms.

This includes localizing key metadata and all critical elements of App Store Optimization that affect app store ranking. There are some differences between iOS App Store and Android Google Play for metadata localization, as illustrated in the visual below. Keep in mind that optimizing visual elements—like the icon, screenshots, videos, etc—is also part of the app localization process.

App localization

Source: App Growth Network

What are the benefits of app localization?

  • Get more downloads: expanding into other languages and countries increases your app’s visibility and exposure.
  • Improve conversion rate: delivering your app’s unique value proposition in a country’s native language is more authentic and engaging, thus more effective.
  • Lower competition ranking on local keywords: not all competitors are localizing for different markets, so you’re staying ahead of the competition.
  • Improve overall rankings: one of the metrics that helps you to rank higher in app stores are monthly active users, so getting more downloads from app stores in different countries results in an increase in overall rankings.

App localization case study: Coin Splash

Coin Splash is a free, casual mobile game where players can build their village to become the next greatest coin empire, attack and get revenge on other players, and spin to win. Players can also connect with Facebook and play with friends to earn free coins and free spins on the wheel to spend towards expanding their empire.

The challenge

Coin Splash was a new game in the casual gaming category and they were looking for help from app marketing partners to bring the app to market. The team hired App Growth Network to develop their launch strategy, implement their first ASO campaign, perform bunde ID analysis, and plan out their paid user acquisition campaign with Apple Search Ads, Google UAC and Facebook.

In this case study, we focus on how our AGN specialists helped Coin Splash reach one of their main go-to-market business objectives:

  • To boost organic search traffic in the US market and increase overall global visibility

Our approach

To achieve their business goal, we took a two-pronged approach:

1. Localized the app’s metadata for their six main GEOs

To increase organic search traffic, we focused on developing and executing a robust ASO strategy. This included targeting six core GEOs in the Google Play Store which included the US, UK, Canada, France, Italy, and Germany.

To make the targeting effective, AGN’s ASO specialists adapted the app metadata into four languages (English, French, Italian and German) and further localized the metadata according to the country. In some countries, multiple languages were leveraged. For example, English was used in the US and UK and French for France and Canada.

2. Doubled our efforts in paid channels

To further enhance the effects of ASO organic traffic, AGN’s paid UA specialists doubled the spending on paid channels like Apple Search Ads.

Results

Through these combined efforts, Coin Splash received significant results in Google Play Store downloads after 40 days of implementing the ASO strategy:

  • 101% increase in global downloads
  • 67% overall increase in local countries

Downloads 40 days

Source: App Growth Network

Downloads by language/country

Source: App Growth Network

Final thoughts

App Store Optimization (ASO) continues to be the most important factor in establishing a mobile app’s organic growth and securing long-term success. Localization efforts, when done strategically, reap great rewards in achieving organic growth goals in specific GEOs and on a global scale. Through the collaborative app growth marketing partnership between Coin Splash and AGN, the app enjoyed a significant increase in organic growth in a short amount of time (40 days).

If you’d like to benefit from the expertise of our ASO specialists, please contact us for a free consultation.