Key points:
- Apple supports app text in roughly 40 locales. Locales aren’t a strict one-to-one match with storefronts either. One English (UK) listing can already reach several countries at once, with zero extra work.
- Google Play offers free machine translation into 29 languages, right inside Play Console. A paid, human option sits right next to it.
- Non-English markets really do carry less keyword competition, as a rule of thumb. But be wary of any exact multiplier or score gap you see quoted for this. No real data backs up that level of precision.
- Apple calls out extra rules for mainland China, South Korea, and Vietnam. Beyond normal localization.
Most ASO effort stops at English. Maybe a second language, if there’s an obvious reason for it. That’s rarely a real strategic choice. It’s just where the work ran out. The gap left behind is real. Even if vendor blogs oversell the exact size of it with suspiciously neat numbers.
What both platforms actually let you do
Apple’s own App Store localization page covers roughly 40 locales. One detail matters here. Locales and storefronts aren’t a strict one-to-one match. English (UK) text, for instance, can serve several country storefronts at once. No separate entry needed for each one. Apple also flags extra rules for three specific places: mainland China, South Korea, and Vietnam. On top of normal localization. Check Apple’s current page directly before assuming your usual process covers those three.
Google Play makes this even easier to start. Inside Play Console’s own translation tools, you get free machine translation into 29 languages. Or a paid, human option, without ever leaving the console you already use.
Neither platform makes you guess here. The real tools sit right inside both consoles.
Why the competition claim holds up
Here’s the honest version of “less competition abroad.” Most developers, most of the time, localize into English and stop there. That’s not a fact about any one market’s real search volume. It’s an observation about where OTHER developers put their effort. A market most of your rivals never bothered to enter with real, local text is, almost by definition, a quieter room than the one everyone’s already crowding into.
That’s a fair, solid claim. What isn’t fair is the specific number some vendor posts attach to it. Claims like an exact difficulty-score gap between two countries for the same keyword. Those numbers don’t trace back to any real, checkable study. Trust the logic. Doubt the decimal points.
| Claim | How solid |
|---|---|
| Apple/Google support broad per-country text | Confirmed directly by both platforms |
| Most developers only localize into English | A widely observed, reasonable pattern |
| Non-English markets are usually less crowded | Follows logically from the pattern above |
| An exact numeric gap between two countries | Not backed by any real published study |
What this looks like in practice
Real-world scenario: A habit-tracking app had run in English only for over a year. It ranked fine, not great, for its core terms in the US. The team used Play Console’s built-in tools to add Portuguese and Indonesian text, two markets already sending real organic installs despite zero local presence there. Within a month of publishing that new text, the app hit the top 10 for several category terms in both markets. Positions it had never come close to in the far more crowded English results. No feature changed. No new keyword tool was needed. That room was simply quieter, since most of their English-speaking rivals had never shown up there with real, local text at all.
How to actually approach this
- Check which countries your text already reaches. Apple’s locale setup often covers more ground than you’d guess.
- Use Play Console’s built-in tools first. The cost of trying a new market this way is close to nothing.
- Pick new markets from real signal, not a guess. Look at where you already get organic installs with zero local text. That’s real demand waiting for you to show up properly.
- Check Apple’s own page before entering mainland China, South Korea, or Vietnam. Those three carry extra rules beyond the usual process.
AppRankr’s Rank Tracker tracks your keyword rank per country. See whether a quieter market is actually turning into real rank for you. Don’t just take a vendor’s claimed number on faith.