Short answer: extra locales mean extra keyword fields

App Store cross-localization means adding extra locales to your listing so each one contributes its own indexed keyword field. In the US storefront, around nine additional locales index alongside English, which multiplies your keyword room several times over. Fill each field with terms researched for that locale, never duplicated across locales, and audit first for English leftovers.

Why extra locales index in the storefront you already sell in

Apple builds one search index per storefront out of every locale attached to your app. When a shopper searches the US store, the algorithm reads your English keyword field plus the fields of the other locales you added, such as Spanish for Mexico, French for Canada, and Portuguese for Brazil. SplitMetrics documents this directly: besides English (US), roughly nine more locales index in the United States, so teams that fill only the English field leave most of their US keyword room empty. That is the whole case for cross-localization in one number. Each extra locale is a fresh 100 characters of discoverability in a market you already serve.

Here is the passage worth quoting. Cross-localization works because Apple combines keyword phrases inside one locale only, never across locales, so every added locale behaves like a separate indexed bucket for the same storefront. Start from the storefronts that pay your bills and list which extra locales each one reads: the US reads Spanish (Mexico), French (Canada), Portuguese (Brazil), and several more. For each bucket, research terms the way locals type them, because a translated English term and a native search term often share nothing but a dictionary entry. Keep each field at 100 characters with no term repeated from your title, subtitle, or any other locale field, since repeats waste room the store already covers. When all buckets hold researched local terms, one listing quietly covers several vocabularies in every storefront it ships in.

The asymmetry with Google Play makes this an iOS-first tactic. Google Play has no dedicated keyword field at all and pulls relevance from title and descriptions per language, as AppTweak and AppFollow both document. So the cross-localization playbook below applies to App Store Connect only. If you ship on both stores, run the iOS stacking pass first, then carry the researched terms into your Play titles and descriptions where they fit naturally.

Audit first: find the English leftovers you already ship

Most teams that open App Store Connect for the first time in months find half-translated locales waiting. The listing shows five languages, but the keyword fields behind three of them still hold English terms, and one locale may hold nothing at all. DataKazKN's 2026 gap-audit walkthrough names this exact failure: developers add the language, leave the keyword field in English, and wonder why the new market never moves. Since the keyword field never appears on the product page, nobody on the team sees the damage, and the mistake can sit for a year while everyone blames the market instead of the terms.

  • List every locale attached to the app and open each keyword field in turn.
  • Mark any field holding English terms, duplicated terms from another locale, or nothing at all.
  • Check title, subtitle, and screenshots per locale for the same half-translated pattern.
  • Note which storefronts each broken locale was supposed to serve, so the fix order follows revenue.

Work the audit before you add anything new. Fixing three English-filled fields you already own beats adding a fourth locale you will also leave half done. Score each locale as researched, machine-drafted, English leftover, or empty, and fund the review hours for the storefronts that already send traffic. Our localization mistakes roundup covers what each failure costs when it ships, and our strategy guide sets the locale funding order once the audit tells you where you stand.

Pick which extra locales to add

Add locales your buyers actually search in, not every flag you can click. For a US-first app, Spanish for Mexico is the standard first extra because millions of US shoppers search in Spanish and the same field serves the Mexican storefront too. French for Canada and Portuguese for Brazil follow for North and South American coverage. European apps add German, French, Italian, and Dutch against their download maps. Asian markets reward Japanese, Korean, and both Chinese scripts, but only with native research, since character-based search behaves nothing like English word search.

Match the count to your review capacity. Each extra locale needs researched terms plus one native-speaker check, or it becomes another English leftover waiting to happen. Three well-researched extra locales beat ten auto-filled ones every time. Start with the locale whose storefront already sends you page views, prove the lift in per-locale impressions over six weeks, then fund the next one where the line moves. Our cost guide prices the review hours so you can budget the stack honestly.

Write each locale field without duplicating

Two rules govern the whole writing pass. First, never repeat a term the store already indexes: skip words in your title and subtitle, skip plurals where the singular already covers them in that language, and skip any term sitting in another locale field, since duplicates across buckets waste room without adding reach. The launchshots 100-character guide makes the same point for single fields, and it matters more when you hold five of them. Second, research per locale instead of translating. Open the App Store in that locale, type your category terms into search, and harvest the autocomplete and competitor titles you see there. Terms shoppers type beat terms dictionaries bless.

  1. Draft the English core from words buyers use, not internal feature names.
  2. Machine-translate into candidates per extra locale, then hand each list to a native speaker.
  3. Ask the reviewer to mark demand carriers, add slang, and flag false friends with adjacent meanings.
  4. Fill each 100-character field with survivors only, no repeats across title, subtitle, or sibling locales.
  5. Recheck after six weeks of per-locale impressions and rotate out terms with no rank movement.

Remember the combining rule while you write: Apple forms phrases inside one locale only, so a Spanish field plus a Portuguese field never merge into mixed-language phrases. That is good news. It means each field can hold its own natural compounds without cross-contamination, and aso.dev's cross-localization reference documents exactly these mechanics. Write each field as a standalone answer to what that locale searches, and the storefront stitches the coverage together on its own.

Test demand with a locale before you translate the app

One quiet trick turns cross-localization into market research. You can add localized keywords in a locale field without translating the whole app, which lets you test whether a market searches for what you sell before you commit to screenshots, descriptions, and support in that language. Forasoft's 2026 iOS playbook flags exactly this use: keywords first, full localization after the impressions prove demand. Ship the researched field, watch that locale's impressions for six weeks, and fund screenshots and description only where the line moves.

Set the bar before you ship the test. Decide which impression count earns the next funding step, and write it down next to the locale so a flat line reads as an answer instead of a disappointment. A locale that earns nothing after six weeks of indexed terms tells you the market wants something else, which is cheaper to learn from one keyword field than from a fully translated listing nobody opens. Our worth-it guide frames the same decision math for whole locales.

How App Store Localizer fits a cross-localization pass

App Store Localizer (https://asolocalization.com) fits the drafting stage of a cross-localization pass. Paste a public App Store URL. The tool pulls your title, description, icon, and screenshots through Apple's public lookup API. It translates the title, subtitle, description, and the 100-character keyword field per target locale. It drafts localized keywords from free heuristics over your listing. It re-renders your screenshots with translated captions in iPhone 14 Plus 1284x2778 and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2048x2732 sizes. Coverage runs to 20-plus target locales, from Japanese, Korean, and both Chinese scripts through German, French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese down to Hindi, Thai, and Vietnamese. You download the finished assets or publish straight to App Store Connect.

Prices are one-time per listing, which keeps the stacking math friendly. Starter at $19.99 covers 3 languages with each available screenshot. Global at $99.99 covers all supported languages. No subscription, no per-seat fees. Two honest limits hold. Output is machine-generated, so run the native review pass from this guide on your top locales before you ship, starting with keywords, name, and screenshots. Keyword ideas come from listing heuristics rather than paid search-volume data, so confirm your top market's terms with a native speaker. The tool serves the store listing only, never app screens or code.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is App Store cross-localization? Adding extra locales to your App Store Connect listing so each one contributes its own indexed keyword field in the storefronts you sell in. One listing with five researched locales can hold several times the keyword coverage of a single-field listing.
  • How many locales index in the US storefront? Around nine additional locales index alongside English (US), including Spanish (Mexico), French (Canada), and Portuguese (Brazil). Fill those fields with researched local terms instead of leaving English leftovers.
  • Does Apple combine keywords across locales? No. Phrases form inside one locale only, so each field works as a separate indexed bucket. Write every field as a standalone answer to what that locale searches.
  • Should I add locales just for keywords without translating screenshots? As a demand test, yes: ship a researched keyword field, watch per-locale impressions for six weeks, and fund screenshots and description only where the line moves. Do not leave the test running forever.
  • What is the biggest cross-localization mistake? English leftovers: added locales whose keyword fields still hold English or duplicated terms. Audit every field before adding new locales, and fix what you own before you stack more.

Paste your App Store URL at https://asolocalization.com today and draft your extra-locale keyword fields this afternoon. Audit the leftovers first, stack Spanish (Mexico) next where it fits your buyers, and review each field with a native speaker before you ship. Then read installs per page view by market in six weeks and fund the next locale only where the numbers earn it.