Our location-based news filter provides the answer by enabling you to track local news coverage and analyze sentiment to optimize your messaging.
We recently released a feature for our News API that allows you to narrow your search to the top news websites in a specific country or the top websites of a specific country. Learn more about how to apply this filter and why the distinction is important here. We based our list of news websites on SimilarWeb’s traffic analysis that ranks websites based on the number of visitors in a given country.
IMPORTANT NOTE
The list of the top news websites for a particular country will include websites that are headquartered in another country. For example, CNN is a US-based news website that appears in the top news websites list for the UK.
1. Market research and product localization
For companies entering new markets, understanding how the media reports on different topics is crucial. You also need to know which news sources are the most popular with the audience in the country you are monitoring. By tracking product-specific mentions in the most popular news sources in the target country, companies can tailor marketing messages and localize products according to the trends and concerns dominating local media.
A tech firm planning to introduce a payment app in Southeast Asia tracks top news stories about financial technology in specific countries like Singapore and Malaysia. This helps them better understand local regulatory issues and consumer preferences in mobile payments.
Screenshot from Webz.io’s News API showing the query for articles about mobile payments, filtering for top news websites in Malaysia.
2. Country-specific financial intelligence
An investment firm interested in Latin America wants to know the headlines from local news outlets to get the full picture. Using the top_news AND country filters to aggregate content from the major local publications regarding economic and political news topics.
After collecting the articles, you can analyze sentiment, topics, and other relevant information to piece together the puzzle of the political landscape. Conducting a sentiment analysis on these specific news articles identifies potential risks, such as political instability or economic downturns, enabling the firm to adjust its investment strategy accordingly. You can trust the data because you know it comes from local sources and therefore should reflect the local sentiment. By tracking positive sentiment and emerging trends, the firm can uncover potential investment opportunities. The end result is that the firm uses data analytics to detect and assess the potential risks and opportunities within each market.
Screenshot from Webz.io’s News API showing a query for political news from top news sources that are based in Argentina.
3. Competitor analysis by geographic region
Organizations can monitor competitors’ media coverage within specific countries by using the top_news filter with and without the country filter to capture stories in the relevant region. This helps brands understand their competitors’ regional visibility, identify key messaging, benchmark performance, and refine their own media strategies accordingly. The business can also compare data about their competitors with
For instance, a consumer electronics brand can track coverage of a competitor’s product launch across top news sites in Japan, South Korea, and the U.K., identifying key features and benefits highlighted in local media. This insight allows the brand to refine its own messaging, adapt product positioning, and optimize marketing campaigns to better compete in each market.
4. Localized crisis management
In times of crisis, it’s essential to quickly assess media coverage and public perception across affected areas. This filter allows for targeted monitoring of the top news sites in any country. Organizations can narrow their search further with another filter stating that the headquarters of the news website must be based in the same country. This helps organizations respond to negative press or sensitive issues with a localized strategy.
A London-based rail company was the victim of a data breach and hundreds of login credentials were compromised.
5. Content relevance for news aggregators
News platforms and aggregators can improve content relevance for users by curating top stories from mainstream sites in each country. This way, they can deliver locally-relevant news that’s likely to attract high user engagement and retention.
A news app aggregates top news stories from Mexico and Argentina for its Latin American user base, focusing on stories about politics, sports, and popular culture to ensure the content is both relevant and engaging to local audiences.
6. Advertising and brand placement optimization
Marketing teams can track top news in specific countries to understand which types of content resonate most in each region, helping optimize ad placements or branded content to align with trending topics and interests.
A B2B SaaS company specializing in customer relationship management (CRM) software utilizes the News API to track mentions of its competitors in industry publications and social media. By analyzing these mentions, the CRM company gains valuable insights into its competitors’ marketing strategies, product launches, and customer feedback. This information allows them to identify areas for improvement in their own product roadmap, refine their marketing messages, and proactively address potential competitive threats, ultimately strengthening their market position.
7. Tracking Regional Sentiment on Global Events
Use the filter to track coverage of global events (e.g., elections, environmental disasters) across top news sources in different countries. Media intelligence teams can monitor how regional outlets frame these events, allowing organizations to anticipate public reactions and adapt their communications strategies accordingly.
A tech company monitors coverage of a new international privacy regulation across the EU, U.S., and Canada to see how each country is reacting to the regulation. The data they company gathers helps to adjust their public messaging to align with regional views on data privacy and proactively modify their data gathering strategies to ensure compliance.
8. Regional Marketing Campaign Performance Analysis
Track how local media covers your brand’s products or features in various countries to understand where specific offerings perform best. Local audience data helps pinpoint which product features resonate most with local consumers and tells the product marketers how to adjust their strategy.
A software company monitors top news coverage of their latest app update across the U.S., Japan, and Germany. With this data, they find that the new privacy features are heavily highlighted in Germany, while ease of use is emphasized in the U.S. This insight helps them adjust future messaging to highlight relevant features by region. In Germany, they emphasize the app’s strong privacy features in marketing materials, while in the U.S., they focus on its user-friendliness and ease of navigation.
9. Messaging Effectiveness and Localization Testing
Analyzing top news stories about your brand across countries, you can evaluate how different messaging or positioning resonates locally. This insight can guide A/B testing of messaging, enabling your team to optimize campaigns based on what works best in each market.
A telecommunications provider launches a “connectivity for all” campaign globally and uses the top_news filter to see if this messaging resonates differently in various countries. They find that the inclusivity angle is particularly popular in developing markets, leading them to double down on this message for those regions. The team decides to A/B test two slightly different messages to gather more data.
Stop guessing and start knowing. Learn how Webz.io’s News API delivers superior news coverage.
