Hebrew App Store Localization: Storefronts and Keyword Bytes

Israel is the only storefront where Apple lists Hebrew. If your listing is English only, an Israeli user sees the primary language or the next most relevant localization, not Hebrew. Adding the he locale gives you a separate name, subtitle, keywords and description for that storefront. Check what ranks locally first on the Israel keyword page.

The locale code Apple gives is he. Other languages with an additional-language row next to an English default include Arabic and Turkish.

• Default language in none: Apple's table never makes Hebrew the default.
• Additional language in 1: Israel.

Where Hebrew is an additional language, the default beside it is English (U.K.).

Apple's keyword reference allows 100 bytes, not 100 characters. Counted as UTF-8, the example below contains 1 one-byte and 44 two-byte characters (separators excluded). At two bytes a letter the field holds at most 50 letters of keywords, commas included. The words below are a hypothetical keyword list for a habit tracker called Streakly; they are illustrations, not validated search terms, and each has at least three characters.

Joined with commas and no spaces after them, the field is:

הרגלים,מעקב הרגלים,מטרות,תזכורת,מוטיבציה,שגרה,משמעת

That is 51 characters and 95 bytes: 89 bytes of keywords plus 6 commas, leaving 5 of the 100 bytes free. The byte counts assume UTF-8; confirm the final count in App Store Connect before you save.

Hebrew is written right to left, and Apple's keyword reference does not mention direction. Hebrew letters take two bytes each, so the 100 bytes hold up to 50 letters with no commas. The example field uses plain letters without vowel marks.

Apple states that special characters carry no extra weight in search, so punctuation does not earn bytes; leave it out. Whether Apple matches a spelling with vowel points to one without is not documented, so test it if you plan to use them.

LocalASO checks keywords in 52 App Store storefronts, each in the storefront's local language, so you can compare your Hebrew candidates with the English ones in one place. Keywords, ranks and listings stay in a database on your Mac. LocalASO is a one-time $29 purchase and the app needs a license key to run; the setup is in the localization docs and the price is on the pricing page. To test the field you just built, use the keyword field checker, or browse every language page. See also: Arabic, Turkish, English (U.K.).