Custom store listing in Google Play: how to create it

Developing an app is only half the battle. Getting your app noticed and downloaded by the right audience is just as important. One of the tools that helps with that is Google Play custom store listings, it is a relatively new feature introduced by Google in 2020. Until May 2022 users could create only 5 custom store listings for a single app, but it was increased to 50, and the significant change benefits apps with many localizations.

Make sure your store listing is relevant to local audiences as this will help you leave a lasting impact on possible new users all over the world. Custom store listings let you highlight your app’s best features in ways that matter to consumers around the world.

What are custom store listings?

Custom Store Listings are customized storefronts for Android apps that allow developers to create a tailored experience for specific user segments. These listings can feature different:

• App name
• Short description
• Full description
• Icon
• Screenshots
• Feature graphic
• Video
• Default language and translations

They enable developers to showcase their app’s unique features and benefits to target audiences, potentially increasing downloads and engagement. The following store listing components can’t be customized, and are shared across all versions of store listings:

• App contact details
• Privacy policy
• App category

For example, let’s take a fitness app that enables users to monitor their activities in different sports. It’s possible to create a custom store listing that targets each sport individually and shows only features that are useful for particular activities like running.

Ways to target different user groups

With custom store listings, you can modify the store listing for your app so that it appeals to particular user groups in the countries you choose or to users who access it via a special custom store listing URL. That enables you to target users through social media campaigns and show them custom listing that matches up with content that is interesting for them.

If your app has a global user base, you can utilize custom store listings to appropriately represent and highlight its best features in ways that are appropriate for users in various countries.

You can create unique store listings just for your pre-registration campaigns, or users who have not used the app in the last 30 days, additionally you can combine country targets with each of these states.

You can create up to 50 custom store listing pages for a single app. If you’ve already created an app with a store listing, its existing store listing becomes its main store listing, which is shown to users in countries that you don’t target with a custom store listing.

Create a custom store listing

Follow the steps below to create a custom store listing:

1. Open Play Console.
2. Select an app.
3. On the left menu, select Grow > Store presence > Custom store listings. Before you can build a custom store listing for your app, you must first create a main store listing for it and publish it.
4. Select Create custom store listing.
5. In the “Listing details” section, type a name for your custom store listing. The name of your custom store listing is exclusively for your use, users cannot see it. Therefore, pick a name that will be useful to you, such as the region this store listing is intended for. Once created, the name cannot be changed.
6. Next to “Target users” select the targeting segments that you want to see your custom store listing by selecting Country, URL, and/or Install state for Pre-registered users. Your ability to choose particular choices or specific combinations of options may be impacted by the distribution and testing settings for your app. Here are some typical reasons why some options might not be accessible:

• Used in another custom store listing: Country/region is unavailable because you’ve already targeted the country with a different custom store listing.
• Pre-registration: Pre-registration install state targeting allows you to show a different store listing to users in countries/regions where your app is in pre-registration. Users in countries/regions where your app has been released to production or open or closed testing will not see this listing.
• App not yet released to production: Country/region is unavailable because you haven’t yet released your app to production there.
• Unavailable in Google Play: Country is unavailable because you don’t distribute the app there.

1. Just above the “App details” section, choose a default language by selecting Manage translations > Change default language. Unless you add translations, users in the countries you select will see your store listing in the default language. If you want to add translations for your app, select Manage your own translations.
2. In the “App details” section, type a name and a short and full description.
3. In the “Graphics” section, upload your graphic assets.
4. Select Create.

Summary

Custom store listings on the Google Play Store are a useful tool for app owners to tailor their App Store presence to appeal to specific user segments, improving the user experience, increasing visibility, and better localizing the app. Introducing this feature is easy and can be done from the Google Play Console, and it can have a significant impact on the popularity of the application by increasing downloads and engagement rates. And if you are also looking for other ways to increase your downloads, check out this article.

Originally published at https://fivedottwelve.com on May 29, 2023.