Custom Store Listings (CSL) is one of the tools in the Google Play developer console that allows you to create alternative versions of an app page, distinct from the main version. This feature allows marketers and developers to personalize content for different audiences, increasing conversions, traffic, and the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.
In this guide, I will address common reader questions and share the RadASO team’s experience in setting up custom app pages.
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Using Custom Store Listings allows you to tailor the content of the app page (Store listing) for different audiences:
Targeting different audiences helps boost the store listing conversion rate.
Store listing conversion rate is the percentage of users who installed the app after visiting the page.
Custom Store Listings helps increase the number of search terms for which the app is ranked, as each page is indexed separately.
Custom pages allow for more precise consideration of regional differences:
A detailed guide to localizing text metadata for the App Store and the impact of cultural and national differences.
You can create up to 50 custom pages at a time. You can add more pages for each one:
Contact details, privacy policy, category remain unchanged for all variants of the app listing page.
There are several options available for customizing the audience targeted by a Custom Store Listing.
You can assign one page to multiple countries, but each country can only have one Custom Store Listing page.
In the audience settings, select Country/region or user state, and check the required countries in the checkbox:
In the audience settings, select Country/region or user state and one of the two possible user states:
In countries where the application is in release or undergoing closed or open testing, the page will not be displayed.
The page will be displayed to the users who search for the app using certain search terms.
To make the right adjustments, analyze the needs of user segments that use different search terms and adapt both text and graphical metadata to meet their expectations:
In the audience settings, select Search keywords, add your own keywords, or use the ones suggested by Google Play.
Focus on the terms that drive traffic and ensure high conversion rates:
In the Audience settings, select a Google Ads campaign and enter the campaign group IDs separated by commas:
Direct users to an alternative store page using a unique URL in social media campaigns, email campaigns, and online publications.
In the audience settings, select the URL option and generate a URL. Enter a name for the parameter that describes the features of the page or the audience for which it is customized. The generated URL will look like this:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=[packageName]&listing=[parameter]
Before creating a custom page, read Google Play's guide to creating a Custom Store Listings, as well as the guide to setting up metadata.
The process consists of several steps:
A page created within a group will inherit the default graphical and textual metadata of that group. Updating the metadata in the group will automatically update the metadata for each page within the group. By default, only the main page group (Default Store Listing Group) is available.
To create a new group, go to Grow users → Store listings → Create group and configure group metadata:
A duplicate of an existing page inherits its metadata, which you can then change.
Select the percentage of the audience to whom the page will be displayed, ranging from 10% to 100%:
Important: after the page is published, this percentage cannot be reduced.
Specify the duration for which the page is displayed in the store. Set the start and end dates (Run for a limited time) or choose to display indefinitely (Run indefinitely - no end date):
You can change the default language or add new locales in the Manage translations menu by selecting Change default language or Select languages, respectively:
Unlike the main page (Default store listing), automatic translation is not available for Custom Store Listings. Therefore, translations for all languages of the target audience need to be added manually.
Text metadata for different variants of the English language can be generated using artificial intelligence. To do this, click Generate suggested descriptions using Gemini above the Short description field, enter a topic, and select Generate:
Google's Gemini AI will prepare two variants of text metadata based on the main page, theme, and target audience settings.
To get new options, click Regenerate, or Insert draft to add the selected option to the metadata:
The video (Preview video) must be uploaded to YouTube with the status set to "Public domain" and without age restrictions. Monetization must be disabled:
9. After publishing, check how the customized pages appear on different device.
Before analyzing performance, allow CSL enough time to collect data. Conversion rates calculated based on a small number of views and installs may be inaccurate.
The basic metrics of the page are the number of visits (Store listing visitors) and conversion rate. They are available in the Custom store listings section of the Store presence section of → Store listings.
Compare the conversion rate of the Custom Store Listing with that of the main page. A higher conversion rate of a custom page indicates its effectiveness:
For a deeper analysis, go to the Store performance section → Store listing conversion analysis. Customize the display by page variant (View by: Store listing) by selecting both the main page and Custom Store Listing.
If necessary, filter the data by country, traffic source, or specific search terms:
Compare the values and dynamics of the number of visits, installs, and conversion rates of your main and custom pages:
To make Custom Store Listings work for you, follow these tips to increase their relevance to different audience segments and improve conversion rates.
Custom Store Listings are not automatically translated. For pages targeted at countries with different languages, you need to add a translation for each language manually.