Tips to choose top stock scanners

You can use scanners to identify stocks you want to trade. The first thing you should do is determine the type of stocks that you want to trade. For example, if your goal is long-term growth, then look for stocks that have a lot of liquidity. That way, even when other investors are selling their shares or there is no demand for them because of bad news, someone will always be there ready to purchase them from you at a good price.

Define your stock criteria

• To keep things simple, let’s say you want to build a portfolio of small-cap stocks that have outperformed the S&P 500 index over the last six months.
• Decide how much time you want to spend on scanning and what your returns are going to be. If you want to scan once per month and don’t care if your returns are positive or negative—or both!—then there’s no need for high investment or research costs. A single share of each stock you select can be bought with as little as $10 per trade.

Understand the algorithm used by scanners.

The algorithm is the foundation of a scanner’s performance. It’s how the software searches for stocks, and it determines what kinds of data the program reports on. Most scanners use one of these three algorithms:

• Smart Scan
• Fundamental Analysis
• Technical Analysis

Check the scanning speed.

The speed of a stock scanner is important to consider because it will affect your ability to execute trades. If you are looking for top stock scanners that can scan stocks quickly, make sure its scanning speed is compatible with the amount of time you have for trading.

Also, be aware that there are other factors besides scanning speed involved in how fast alerts get sent out. For example, if you are using a desktop platform and want real-time quotes—a feature offered by many online brokers—that could also affect how quickly an alert goes out after being generated by the scanner software program.

See if it offers real time alerts and notifications.

Real time alerts are important and you should look for them in any stock scanner you are considering. Real time alerts allow users to know when a stock has hit a certain price or if it has hit a certain price range, so they can make trades on the fly. However, these features aren’t the only things that should be considered when choosing a good scanner.

Look for a good customer service.

It is important to get along with the customer service staff if you need help fixing your scanner or if you have any other questions about your purchase. You should also look at the company’s website to see what kind of information they offer about their scanners and user manuals, as well as whether there are any other ways in which they can assist you. A good provider will be able to answer all of your questions efficiently, so make sure that the company has a strong customer support team before purchasing anything from them!

Get a good idea about what you are looking for in a scanner before choosing one.

• Look at the specifications of different stock scanners to find out which one best meets your requirements.
• You should also consider the monthly cost, as well as other associated costs such as data plans and equipment rentals that might apply if you’re looking for a mobile scanner.