Around 6500 languages are spoken in the world. Mobile app stores support 180+ (App Store:175, Google Play Store:192) countries on average. Localize your app not to lose millions of potential local users with an English-only app.
Do not let thousands of languages spoken scare you for localization. Prepare a step-by-step localization plans on the basis of the most spoken languages and your target market. Of course, starting with the most spoken languages will produce the most effective results.
Some of the Prominent Languages in the Mobile App Market
Chinese
Being a quite important market in the consumer economy, China also stands out in the mobile app sector. According to Statista's research, while maintaining its leadership in this field with 89.7 billion app downloads in 2018, it also achieves growth compared to the previous 2 years. You can see from StoreSpy Top Charts that popular apps in the Chinese market care a lot about localization.
German
By 2020, the number of smartphone users in Germany reached 60.74 million. As of 30 September 2020, it is the most populous member state of the European Union with a population of 83 million. In addition, German is one of the official languages of 6 countries (Germany, Austria, Lichtenstein, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg). Discover some apps in StoreSpy Top Charts which target the German market and support German language only other than English.
Portuguese
Portuguese is one of the prominent languages in the mobile app market because it is spoken in 4 different continents. Countries that speak Portuguese draw attention in this market. For instance, according to the research, Brazil is the country with the most app downloads in half of 2020, after India and the USA. In this region where the English speaking rate is very low, it is quite important to speak to your users in the local language.
Spanish
When you go over the country-specific app lists, you will notice that the Spanish localizations are prioritized. The fact that more than 20 countries have accepted Spanish as an official language and more than 450 million people speak it is a sufficient reason.
Localization Is Not Translation
App localization does not mean translating your app content directly into different languages. Localization is the organization of your app content and store appearance in accordance with different cultures. Remember the most famous books you have read and the series you have watched. They are promoted with different names, photos, and ads in different geographies. It is because localized content influences the users more than direct translations do. Impress local users to grow your app globally!
Price Research by Countries
The other essential detail on localization is pricing. You may misprice your app by making direct conversions between currencies. On currency changes, analyze the geographies well and re-price your app.
Tips for App Localization
- Analyze Your Users: You may be at the beginning of the app release process before making the localization decision, or it may have been a while since you published your app. If your app has met a certain user base, analyze the countries properly and turn onto the demanding markets. If you are att the beginning of the app release process, you can make general market analysis.
- Analyze Your Competitors: Analyze your competitors’ localization strategies, It can give you important insights in making periodic and long-term decisions.
- Observe the Local Calendar: You can make specific localizations depending on Christmas, national holidays or holidays. Impress the locals!
- Your Ads Are as Important as Your App Appearance: We have talked in detail about the importance of getting organic users by placing the store appearance and app content. Do not ignore the importance of localization for your ads, either. Increase your returns by localizing your ads in terms of language and culture.
Localization is possible for 40 different languages on the App Store and for 77 different languages on the Google Play Store. It is possible to reach the whole world market. Make the localization in accordance with culture and language used.
