diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ecfd7fd..60daa0a 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 - Migrate unit tests to Vitest https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-gl-geocoder/pull/238
 - Make the `reverseGeocode` field in `MaplibreGeocoderAPI` optional https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-gl-geocoder/pull/245
+- Localise error messages https://github.com/maplibre/maplibre-gl-geocoder/pull/258
 
 ### Bug fixes 🐛
 
diff --git a/lib/index.ts b/lib/index.ts
index 65e303a..dab8b0b 100644
--- a/lib/index.ts
+++ b/lib/index.ts
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import {EventEmitter} from "events";
 import type {Marker, Popup, Map, FlyToOptions, MarkerOptions, default as MaplibreGl} from "maplibre-gl";
 
 import {exceptions} from "./exceptions";
-import {placeholder as localization} from "./localization";
+import localization from "./localization";
 
 /**
  * A regular expression to match coordinates.
@@ -1052,13 +1052,14 @@ export default class MaplibreGeocoder {
 
   _renderError() {
     const errorMessage =
-      "<div class='maplibre-gl-geocoder--error'>There was an error reaching the server</div>";
+      `<div class='maplibre-gl-geocoder--error'>${this._localize("errorConnectionFailed")}</div>`;
     this._renderMessage(errorMessage);
   }
 
   _renderNoResults() {
     const errorMessage =
-      "<div class='maplibre-gl-geocoder--error maplibre-gl-geocoder--no-results'>No results found</div>";
+      `<div class='maplibre-gl-geocoder--error maplibre-gl-geocoder--no-results'>
+        ${this._localize("errorNoResults")}</div>`;
     this._renderMessage(errorMessage);
   }
 
@@ -1070,23 +1071,15 @@ export default class MaplibreGeocoder {
   }
 
   /**
-   * Get the text to use as the search bar placeholder
+   * Get a localised string for a given key
    *
-   * If placeholder is provided in options, then use options.placeholder
-   * Otherwise, if language is provided in options, then use the localized string of the first language if available
-   * Otherwise use the default
-   *
-   * @returns the value to use as the search bar placeholder
-   */
-  private _getPlaceholderText(): string {
-    if (this.options.placeholder) return this.options.placeholder;
-    if (this.options.language) {
-      const firstLanguage = this.options.language.split(",")[0];
-      const language = subtag.language(firstLanguage);
-      const localizedValue = localization[language];
-      if (localizedValue) return localizedValue;
-    }
-    return "Search";
+   * If language is provided in options, attempt to return localized string (defaults to English)
+   * @param key - key in the localization object
+   * @returns localized string
+   */
+  private _localize(key: keyof typeof localization): string {
+    const language = subtag.language(this.options.language.split(',')[0]);
+    return this.options.language && localization?.[key][language] ? localization[key][language] : localization[key]['en']
   }
 
   /**
@@ -1245,7 +1238,7 @@ export default class MaplibreGeocoder {
    * @param placeholder - the text to use as the input element's placeholder
    */
   setPlaceholder(placeholder?: string): this {
-    this.placeholder = placeholder ? placeholder : this._getPlaceholderText();
+    this.placeholder = placeholder ? placeholder : this.options.placeholder || this._localize("placeholder");
     this._inputEl.placeholder = this.placeholder;
     this._inputEl.setAttribute("aria-label", this.placeholder);
     return this;
diff --git a/lib/localization.ts b/lib/localization.ts
index dc658f6..3c4f5d7 100644
--- a/lib/localization.ts
+++ b/lib/localization.ts
@@ -26,10 +26,20 @@ const placeholder = {
   'fi': 'Hae',//finnish
   'is': 'Leita',//icelandic
   'ko': '수색',//korean
-  'pl':  'Szukaj', //polish
+  'pl': 'Szukaj', //polish
   'sl': 'Iskanje', //slovenian
   'fa': 'جستجو',  //persian(aka farsi)
   'ru': 'Поиск'//russian
 }
 
-export {placeholder};
+const errorNoResults = {
+  'en': 'No results found',
+  'de': 'Keine Ergebnisse gefunden'
+}
+
+const errorConnectionFailed = {
+  'en': 'There was an error reaching the server',
+  'de': 'Verbindung fehlgeschlagen'
+}
+
+export default { placeholder, errorNoResults, errorConnectionFailed };
diff --git a/test/unit/geocoder.ui.test.ts b/test/unit/geocoder.ui.test.ts
index d624578..3856fb0 100644
--- a/test/unit/geocoder.ui.test.ts
+++ b/test/unit/geocoder.ui.test.ts
@@ -76,6 +76,36 @@ describe("Geocoder#inputControl", () => {
         expect(map.getContainer().querySelector(".maplibregl-ctrl-geocoder input").placeholder).toBe("Suche");
       }
     );
+
+    test("placeholder localization defaults to English when translation is missing",() => {
+        setup({ language: "non_existant_language" });
+        expect(map.getContainer().querySelector(".maplibregl-ctrl-geocoder input").placeholder).toBe("Search");
+      }
+    );
+
+    test("error message localization", async () => {
+      setup({language: "de-DE"});
+      const resultsPromise = geocoder.once("results");
+      geocoder.query("non_existant_place")
+      await resultsPromise
+      expect(map.getContainer().querySelector(".maplibre-gl-geocoder--error").textContent.trim()).toBe("Keine Ergebnisse gefunden");
+    });
+
+    test("error message localization with more than one language specified", async () => {
+      setup({language: "de-DE,lv,fr"});
+      const resultsPromise = geocoder.once("results");
+      geocoder.query("non_existant_place")
+      await resultsPromise
+      expect(map.getContainer().querySelector(".maplibre-gl-geocoder--error").textContent.trim()).toBe("Keine Ergebnisse gefunden");
+    });
+
+    test("error message localization defaults to English when translation is missing", async () => {
+      setup({language: "non_existant_language"});
+      const resultsPromise = geocoder.once("results");
+      geocoder.query("non_existant_place")
+      await resultsPromise
+      expect(map.getContainer().querySelector(".maplibre-gl-geocoder--error").textContent.trim()).toBe("No results found");
+    });
   
     test("clear is not called on keydown (tab), no focus trap", () => {
         setup({});