Not Sure Which Languages to Choose?
What’s the next logical step after you got your audience in one language market on YouTube? Reaching into the global markets, of course. But how do you test the translated content before rolling out a full localized channel? How do you learn which markets work best for your type of content? Let’s talk about it in detail.
Why Localization is Important
Not every single person in the world knows English, but even then, those people might be interested in what you have to say on your channel.
Whether you’re a brilliant commentator, a gifted guide, or the chef with the secret recipe, language can be the only thing standing between you and millions of new fans.
And here’s the reality check in numbers:
- English: 1.45 billion viewers · 12.2 million creators
- Hindi: 610 million viewers · 246K creators
- Spanish: 600 million viewers · 3.1 million creators
- Arabic: 380 million viewers · 1.9 million creators
See the pattern? English is massive, but it’s also a packed stadium with millions of voices shouting at once. Spanish is huge too, but the competition is fierce.
Now look at Hindi: over 600 million potential viewers… and fewer than 250K creators making content for them. That’s a golden opportunity. Arabic also stands out, hundreds of millions of viewers, far fewer creators than English or Spanish.
Some languages are a crowded city; others are a wide-open highway. The right choice could take you from “growing” to “exploding.” That’s why you test first, then go all‑in.
But which languages should you bet on? And more importantly, how do you know your translated content will actually work before you sink time, money, and energy into a full-on localized channel? Well, dear readers, we’ve got you covered. That’s exactly what we’re about to figure out.
Start Small, But Smart
Getting a full channel localization is a serious investment of resources that may or may not bring desired results. If you want to get the best out of it before you actually hire a full team, you need data. You need to figure out the markets that have the most potential for your channel. Guessing, in this case, can bring more harm than good.
Usually, it’s not the case of ‘the biggest language on the market wins, so let’s do that’. No, you need targeted testing that can give you actionable insights.
Here’s how to do it.
Way 1: Use Existing Data
First things first, let’s get the easiest things out of the way. Using existing analytics from your YouTube Studio is a sure way to get a general idea of where most of your views are coming from and what other regions you are popular in.
Getting into that is simple. In your YouTube Studio click the Audience, then seek Top Geographies. From there you can look up the watch time and the percentage of returning viewers by country. Handy, right? If you have a high % from a non-English speaking region, that’s your que to expand into that region with full localization or dub.
Moreover, if you want to learn more about what your viewers think about it, ask them! Use community polls, deepen that creator-viewer relationship and ask them if they’d watch dubbed/subbed versions of your content. That way, depending on what your existing audience answers, you can get a general idea on whether or not you’d be popular in other language regions.
Way 2: Turn on Auto-Dubbing
We know that a lot of YouTubers and users complain about this specific feature for how it’s performing. We understand that. But hear us out on this one: turning auto-dubbing on is actually a great way to delve into which markets would work best for you, which are worth delving into (and which are better shelved for now).
So how do you actually turn on the auto-dubbing feature? Well if you’re monetized already, it’s an easy step.
- Go to your YouTube Studio
- Click on Settings
- Upload Defaults
- Advanced Settings
- Allow automatic dubbing
Of course, if you’re afraid of uploading your video without reviewing the auto dub result, you can fortunately choose to manually review the dubs beforehand. How? Well, you can turn on the dubbing during upload under ‘Show More > Automatic Dubbing’.
And if you want to check what’s already been dubbed on your channel, go to your YouTube Studio again and click ‘Content’ > Select a video you want to review > Click Languages > Preview or publish dubs per language.
Easy, right? There’s way more info on that front on YouTube’s official support article, so you should check it out.
After doing that, give it a month or so and then look back on the data your Studio has gathered. Which markets are getting more views and engagement? Well, that’s your aim market, that’s where you should move.
Way 3: Subs + Metadata
If you want to dip your toes into scaling globally, you definitely don’t need to dump a large sum of money from the get-go only to find disappointment. Another cost-effective way to test out the translated content before you roll out a full localized channel is a subtle combo approach that uses the power of subtitles and metadata.
Let’s see. If you translate your metadata (which can easily be done with the help of AI metadata translation), YouTube will start recommending your content in new regions. Of course, since not all viewers in those regions will understand the OG language of your content, add subtitles in those languages so viewers can understand what you’re saying.
Obviously, some languages will perform better than others, so that will be your cue to expand your market that way and those would be the markets to focus on.
But Testing’s Easy. What to Do Next Though?
Once testing’s done, it’s time to dub and localize. We've done dubbing for 400+ channels, so the team here knows a thing or two about dubbing and we can do that for you!
The AIR Translation Labs create dubs that often outperform original tracks. We lead with human voices and can make them all sound like you in all languages with AI cloning. AI ensures that your dubbing is studio-quality level, and real voice actors bring in human emotions that no AI can replicate with sprinkled on local feel.
We can help you bring in the right voice actors for your niche and boost the localized content to millions of views.
Going global has never been easier.
Getting +125 Million Views with AIR Dubs
One of our partners, a YouTube Kids channel we’ve worked with for years, had a huge following and attention in their English content (291 million+ views, that’s massive), but the successfully tested dubbing added 125,5 million on top.
We started back in November 2024 with 5 videos translated into 11 languages to see what sticks and which of the chosen languages were actually worth investing thoroughly into. Out of those 11 languages 4 pulled ahead fast (Spanish, Arabic, Indonesian and Portuguese). Then, two more languages (Japanese and Korean) climbed the ranks, enough to have them as core dubbing languages.
Since we didn’t have auto-dubbing at that time, we have gotten our lineup of 6 the harder way, and were rolling out subs in all 11.
Then, YouTube picked it up and the traffic rolled in full swing. In just about 5 months, our partner gained 125,5 million views, which is over 4 million views per video. Dubbed audio tracks were pulling more than 30% of overall views. Not to mention, they’ve gained +45 million subs in over a year. Sounds impressive, right?
What’s the Formula?
The best way to test before you actually roll out a full channel in a different language with minimized risk is to translate your most proven content, as in your best performing videos. The way you go about it is you pick 1-2 highest-performing videos (the ones with the strongest engagement) and localize those first.
What metrics do you watch? Well, the retention compared to the original version, CTR in the language region you’re most interested in, watch time vs bounce rate, and subscriber conversion.
Key Mistakes to Avoid
- Translating everything at once. That’s cost-heavy and high-risk.
- Using auto-dubbing as an end-solution. AI can misfire on tone, gender, or idioms. Not to mention drive away the audience in the long run.
- Ignoring local culture. Translation ≠ localization. You’re building for people, not just parsing words.
Testing translation is a necessity if you want your translation to land successfully. Your channel is your business, it’s essentially you asking yourself ‘Is this a market worth building a version of me for?’
And like any smart business owner, you need data, feedback, and knowledge before you try to expand.
Нou don’t have to do any of this alone. We help creators run these tests the right way, so if you’re thinking about going global - drop us a message and we will be more than happy to assist.
