Exciting news for app marketers are on the horizon. Today, we discovered a new tab on the Google Play Console that will be a turning point for your localization strategy: Custom Store Listings.

Source: Google Play Console

What did Google introduce here?

Currently Google supports 84 languages and 144 countries where you can publish your app. But if you set up a store listing in one language it will be displayed for all users across the globe that have this language in their system settings independent of the country where the user is based. Google now allows you to create custom store listings where you can freely define the appearance of your store page for any combination of store country and language.

Example: Your German localization of the store listing for the German market (i.e. users with a German Google account) can now look completely different to what users from Switzerland would see, even if their device is set to German as the primary language as well. More reasonable use cases would be Spanish localizations for the American markets for example. Think of it as a matrix where you can set up any combination of country and language.

For one app you can create up to five customized product pages in the Play Store. You just select your country and preferred languages in the console – easy as (Android) pie (no pun intended). Elements that can be customized include:

• app icon
• app title
• descriptions
• screenshots

The Google Support will give you more information here.

Source: Google Play Console

Which benefits do custom store listings present?

Why should app marketers listen up? With custom store listings it will be possible to approach your users in the Play Store in a specific country with different localizations. This definitely lifts some previous optimization limitations. In this day and age it certainly makes sense to offer users the same brand experience. No matter what language they speak. Google manifests its language-friendly approach here compared to Apple.

The Play Store is a saturated market, and in order to compete, you need the ability to optimize your app listing AND direct user appeal.

Should you use custom store listings for your app

We think this option is a great opportunity for global companies with local brands/businesses that have the same app in multiple countries. For instance brands like Deliveroo, McDonalds, or radio.net. Google is making it attractive for these to publish one app bundle instead of multiple apps.

AB tests will be redundant if you have localized product pages in your country. Most users will see the localized version and not the AB test.

Source: Google Play Console

It remains to be seen how the custom store listings will be distributed to users though. If you want to learn how to make the most of your Google Play Store listing and stay on top of your ASO-localization game, we’re here to help. Drop us a line via our contact page.