How APAC rewards full localisation

Three worlds, never one blended group

Split APAC into Japan, Korea and English speaking markets at minimum, because scripts, search habits and category terms share almost nothing across the three. Japan and Korea each earn their own campaign groups with native keyword builds, while Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and India run in an English group with local spellings respected. Scope coverage with our 91 markets guide and location targeting.

Note the March 2026 rollout added extra sponsored positions inside search results, live in Japan from 3 March with wider rollout through the month, per Apple inventory notes summarised on Apple campaign pages. Expect denser auctions in Japan first. Start from the Apple Ads hub.

Japan needs a native rebuild

Japan rewards native keyword rebuilds: katakana loanwords, kanji category terms and shortened conversational queries that translation tools miss. Build lists with a native speaker, mirror terms on the Japanese product page and custom pages, and keep negatives native too. Our localised keywords guide sets the workflow.

Localise screenshots and previews fully, because Japanese shoppers read page craft as product quality. Test search results first, then Today tab once intent terms prove out.

Korea plays by its own rules

Korea combines high payer density with distinct search shorthand, so compact keyword lists with tight exact cores often beat sprawling builds. Keep brand defence always on, harvest exact aggressively and cap discovery until the core reads clean. Category CPT medians run high for competitive verticals in estimated vendor data, so hold budgets steady while learning completes.

Watch creative fatigue closely in Korea, where dense urban audiences cycle fast. Rotate app previews and screenshots on evidence, using creative reporting to time the swaps.

Keep discovery tightly capped in Korea until the exact core holds its CPA for a full fortnight, then widen gradually into category terms with negatives guarding the brand. Patience here buys cheaper scale later.

English APAC is not one market

Treat Australia, Singapore and India separately inside the English group: separate ad groups at minimum, separate campaign groups where budgets allow. Spelling, slang and price sensitivity differ, and blended targets hide all three truths. India often delivers volume at lower payer density, Australia delivers value at higher CPTs, and Singapore sits between the two.

Vendor medians are estimated vendor data: AppTweak prints a global median CPT near 0.92 dollars against a US median near 1.91 dollars, per the AppTweak benchmarks. Read APAC markets against their own histories first.

Set distinct CPA caps per market inside the English group so India scale never borrows budget from Australian value. Review the caps fortnightly as exchange rates and price tiers shift the payer maths.

Budget to payer density, pace to proof

Weight APAC budgets to payer density and proven trial value, not to download counts. Japan and Australia typically justify premium bids where subscriptions monetise, while India earns scale budgets tied to strict CPA caps. Step budgets up only after postback backed payer reads confirm value, reconciled via reconciliation.

For illustration, an education app might cap India on strict CPA while Japan runs a value weighted budget, widening only as paid mix confirms over a full quarter. Ask our team for an APAC weighting review before raising caps.

Frequently asked questions