How much does localization increase ad engagement?

We all know that localization of content, particularly marketing content, increases user engagement. All large companies localize at least part of their content for all key markets. But it is always difficult to estimate the actual return on the investment.

In this article, Jud Bowman, CEO and founder of Appia, the leading mobile ad distribution network, explains how his company ran a test by comparing localized ads with their English version in three test markets (Spain, France and Germany).

They found that the click-thru-rate of CTR increased from 2.35% to 3.34% (42% better) and the conversion rate increased from 7.47% to 9.08% (22% better).

For most companies, such percentages of increase make the cost of localization negligible compared to the return, particularly as ads contain very little text and their transcreation cost is very reasonable. Which explains that Jud’s conclusion is that “[r]eturning ads in a device’s language of choice will create higher engagement and enhance user experience, leading to increased click-through rates and ultimately, higher conversion rates. Incorporating localized creative is a must for performance-based mobile marketers.“

Of course, this is only one brick in the wall, and consumers/clients will expect more of the marketing content to be translated (website, app, etc.) when they click through a localized app.