App Store Connect metadata localization: character limits, key fields, and what to prioritize

A practical reference to every App Store Connect metadata field — its character limit, whether Apple indexes it for search, and how to sequence your localization effort for maximum ASO impact.

Most iOS developers treat App Store localization as a translation job: hand the English strings to a service, get back forty language files, upload. The problem is that App Store metadata is constrained in ways that make literal translation routinely fail. A 28-character English app name may balloon to 40+ characters in German, blowing the 30-character limit. A keyword string tuned for English-language search intent is unlikely to match how German or Japanese users actually phrase queries. And promotional text — the one metadata field you can update without triggering an app review — is frequently left in English entirely, costing you the most agile update channel you have.

This guide walks through every metadata field in App Store Connect, its character limits, whether Apple indexes it for search, and how to prioritize localization effort across them. It is written for developers managing their own localization and for teams using spreadsheet-based translation workflows who want to understand exactly what they are paying to translate — and why some fields matter far more than others.

Every App Store metadata field, its character limit, and search indexing status

Understanding what Apple indexes versus what users see helps you allocate translation budget correctly. The table below covers the primary fields developers localize per territory, with the indexing status Apple's own documentation describes.

A few nuances worth noting:

• Keywords are per locale. Each language locale in App Store Connect has its own 100-character keyword bank. You cannot share keywords across locales — and you should not want to, since effective keywords differ significantly by market and language.
• Apple also indexes your developer name and in-app purchase display names for each locale, so those fields deserve attention even though they're not in the core metadata panel.
• Promotional text is often the most under-used field. Because it updates without a new app binary, it is uniquely suited to time-sensitive messaging: a seasonal sale, a feature announcement, or a limited discount window. Yet it is the field developers most consistently leave in English across non-English storefronts.
• The description is not indexed by Apple's algorithm, but it is read by high-intent users who are comparison-shopping before downloading. Well-localized descriptions are a conversion tool, not an ASO tool.

Which fields to localize first: a prioritization framework

If you are localizing incrementally — launching in a new territory for the first time, or working with a limited translation budget — here is how to sequence your effort for maximum return.

Tier 1: App Name, Subtitle, and Keywords

These three fields determine whether your app surfaces in App Store Search at all for non-English queries. Machine-translating them is insufficient: keyword research requires knowing which terms users in that market actually type, not what an English phrase translates to. Phiture and other ASO agencies consistently report that localized keyword sets outperform translated ones, because the highest-converting terms are idioms and category conventions that don't map cleanly across languages.

For the 30-character Name and Subtitle, work with a native speaker or a localization specialist to ensure the translation fits the limit and still communicates your core value proposition. It is common for German, Finnish, and certain CJK languages to require a meaningful rewrite of the name rather than a literal translation — German compound nouns alone can exhaust the character budget before you've conveyed the app's purpose.

Tier 2: Promotional Text

This is arguably the most tactically valuable field because it can be updated without a review cycle. A localized promotional text lets you run time-sensitive campaigns — new year offers, back-to-school pricing, anniversary discounts — without waiting for app review approval. Sensor Tower and AppFollow analyses of App Store listings consistently find that a majority of non-English storefronts display English promotional text, particularly in Eastern European and Southeast Asian markets, which means the bar for standing out with localized copy is low.

Budget roughly half the translation cost of your description for this field. The improvement in conversion rate from relevant, current copy in the user's language often outweighs the cost many times over — especially in markets with lower average revenue per user, where free-to-trial conversion rates respond more strongly to trust signals like native-language copy.

Tier 3: Description and What's New

These longer-form fields shape the user's decision after they've found your app but before they download. While Apple doesn't index them for search, they are read by users who are comparison-shopping — particularly in high-intent categories like productivity, finance, and health. A translated description that reads clearly and professionally also signals genuine local commitment, which matters in markets like Japan and South Korea where quality perception is closely tied to purchase intent.

For What's New, keep a localized update template that your team fills in with each release. The per-update effort is low once the template is in place, and consistent localization here reinforces the impression that your app is actively maintained for that market.

Writing localized metadata for the algorithm and the user

Most translation briefs focus on what a term means. ASO-aware localization adds a second question: what do users in this market actually type into App Store Search?

The keyword field is the clearest case. You have 100 characters, comma-separated, per locale. In English, a productivity app might use: to-do,task manager,planner,reminders,gtd,daily planner. The Japanese equivalent looks entirely different: common App Store search patterns in Japan tend to favour noun-heavy, category-specific terms rather than English brand methodology names. A direct translation of "gtd" would be effectively invisible to Japanese users searching the App Store.

Some practical rules for keyword localization that industry ASO practitioners consistently recommend:

• Research keywords, don't translate them. Tools like AppFollow, Sensor Tower, and AppTweak provide locale-specific keyword volume and difficulty data. Start there before handing anything to a translator.
• Don't duplicate terms already indexed elsewhere. Apple indexes your App Name, Subtitle, and developer name automatically. Repeating those words in the keyword field wastes character budget that could go to additional terms.
• Commas separate keywords, spaces do not. "task manager" is a single two-word keyword and uses 12 characters plus a comma. It does not split into "task" and "manager" as two separate indexed terms.
• Locale-specific entry is required. Entering English keywords in the French locale gains you nothing for French-language search. Apple indexes keywords in the locale context in which they appear.

For App Name and Subtitle, the constraint is tight: 30 characters to communicate your value proposition and include at least one search-relevant category term. The standard approach is to lead with your brand name, followed by a category keyword: Planner – Daily To-Do List (29 characters) tells Apple what category you're in, tells the user what you do, and fits the limit. Longer brand names may require moving the category keyword to the Subtitle and accepting that the Name carries only your brand.

Managing the localization workflow in App Store Connect

App Store Connect organizes metadata by app version. When you submit a new binary, you can update Name, Subtitle, Keywords, Description, and What's New simultaneously. Promotional text stands apart: it can be updated at any time from the app's page without a new binary, making it the only metadata field that fits into a marketing workflow rather than a development workflow.

For teams managing multiple locales, a common structure is a shared spreadsheet with one row per locale and columns for each metadata field, including a character count formula that flags overruns before submission. This catches the German compound-noun problem before it reaches App Store Connect validation, which surfaces character-limit errors only at submission time.

App Store Connect's default language setting matters here: if a user's device locale doesn't have a specific localization, Apple falls back to your default language. Setting the default to English is standard, but in markets where a language is dominant and you haven't localized yet, the fallback to English can hurt conversion. Prioritize localization for your top-five revenue territories, verify with your App Store Connect sales and trends reports, and work outward from there. For guidance on reading territory-level download and revenue data, see Reading Apple Sales and Trends for global pricing decisions.

In-app purchase and subscription metadata follows a separate review process from app metadata. IAP names, descriptions, and subscription group display names each require Apple review before they go live, and they appear in contexts the user sees at the moment of purchase: the paywall, the system subscription management sheet, and renewal receipts. Leaving these in English in a Japanese or Brazilian storefront creates a jarring trust break at the most sensitive moment in the conversion funnel. For a full account of what gets missed here, see iOS in-app purchase localization: the 5 fields most devs forget.

Common metadata localization mistakes

Using the same keywords across all locales. Even markets that share a language — UK and Australian English, or Brazilian and European Portuguese — show meaningful divergence in App Store search behavior. AppFollow research suggests the overlap in top-performing keywords between related-language markets is often lower than developers expect. Treat each locale's keyword field as independent research, not a copy-paste from a related locale.

Translating the App Name character-for-character and hoping it fits. It usually doesn't. German and Finnish compound nouns routinely exceed the 30-character limit when translated from English. Build the Name and Subtitle from scratch in each locale, briefing the translator on the character constraint and the ASO intent, rather than asking for a translation of the English source string.

Ignoring the promotional text field entirely. This is the most forgiving field in App Store Connect — it updates without review, it has a 170-character limit that most messages fit comfortably, and it appears prominently on the product page. Leaving it in English in a French or Korean storefront is a missed conversion opportunity that can be fixed in minutes.

Treating localization as a one-time launch task. Your description changes as your app evolves. Build a localization process that re-translates affected sections on each major update, not just at launch. At minimum, the What's New field should be localized for every update that ships to a market where you've invested in localization. For the ROI calculation that justifies this ongoing investment, see iOS app localization ROI: how to calculate the return on your App Store translation investment.

Not validating character limits before submission. Automated pipelines that push translated strings to App Store Connect without a character-limit validation step will silently truncate fields that exceed the limit — sometimes mid-sentence. Add a pre-flight check to your translation workflow that flags any field exceeding its limit before strings reach the upload stage.

Sources and further reading

• Apple Developer — Localize your app's metadata in App Store Connect
• Apple Developer — App Store Connect App Information reference (field limits)
• Phiture — Mobile Growth Stack: App Store Optimization resources
• AppFollow Blog — ASO research and App Store analytics
• Sensor Tower Blog — App Store market intelligence and ASO data
• AppTweak ASO Blog — keyword research and metadata strategies