How and why app localization is important

There has been immense of hard work put in by the developers in making an app. Designing, coding, strategizing, testing, debugging, some more debugging, porting; and then the app is ready to be published across the globe to maximum number of app stores. But with one major issue pertaining to the app and all the supporting marketing material of the app- the app is either in one language or probably two. If this is what stands correct in your case, then you are certainly missing out on a major opportunity of earning good revenues. We will definitely let you know why.

Today, the prime goal of every app developer is to encounter maximum number of downloads for their app, which will then allow the app to grab a place in the top charts. If we go by the numbers, it takes almost 40,000 downloads per day to hit the Top 25 chart. Now, there are over 1 million apps in the app stores, all together making tremendous efforts to boost app visibility and thereby encounter highest number of downloads. Due to this, the app stores are witnessing a bottleneck situation which has led to the evolution of ASO following to which, Mobile AppLocalization has become the need of the hour for the developers. Today, more and more Mobile App Multilingual Services are emerging in the market.

Let us fetch some engrossing insights on mobile app localization which will help us understand the importance of releasing the app in multiple languages.

• Korea, China and other East Asian countries prefer to download apps in Chinese. They infact makeup the largest portion of app download activity behind the U.S.
• According to 2011 data, the U.S. only made up 34% of the iOS global revenue share. While the remaining 66% of the revenue comes from the rest of the world.
• According to the data released by Flurry, Chinahas overtook the U.S. to become the top smart device market (in terms of the number of active iOS and Android smart device, including both smartphones and tablets) in the world.
• According to a report released by App Annie recently, Japanhas surpassed the U.S. and is now the number one country in terms of GooglePlay revenue. This is the first time in history that the U.S. did not rank as the top country on Google Play in terms of revenue. Since January 2012, the Google Play revenue in the U.S. has only grown twice while the revenue in Japan has increased by 10 times!
• According to the research, revenue generated by freemium apps has grown more than 4X during the last 24 months for iOS apps and more than 3.5X in 2012 for Google Play apps. And among different countries, Japanand China are the growth leaders for freemium revenues.
• According to a research by Distimo, Localizationincreases downloads by 128% on Average for iPhone apps. It also suggested that users in China, Japan and South Korea have a strong preference for local language when choosing apps. This research has proved that, Apps that support the native language dominate the Top charts.
• According to Google report, there are 1.5 million android devices activated on daily bases out of which a large majority of these are believed to be in language other than English. More to that, the Android apps are downloaded every day by people from 190 countries.
• While it is South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United States, Singapore, Sweden, Israel, Denmark, Netherlands and Norway that make the Top10 countries with the highest downloads per capita, there are only 4.9% of apps in the Android App store that have been localized for at least one specific country.

If these factuals aren’t enough, we have one more to make you believe. The fact is, 90% of the apps in the Top 20 of each country's App Store are localized. It is proven that users are overwhelmingly downloading apps in their own language.

It is evident that App Localization is extremely important for the developers as it leverages the success they are curiously looking for. Localize your app in maximum languages and let maximum number of people access your app in their preferred language. The more number of downloads the better the scope of witnessing increase in revenue earnings. If you are looking for an experienced mobile app marketing company, then opt for AppN2o. It provides the best Mobile App Multilingual Services for iPhone and Android App developers with a seamless process.