How to Use a Stock Screener to Actually Find Good Trades

When we launched the stock screener, we thought the hard part was the engineering — filtering 8,000+ US stocks in real-time against user-defined criteria. That was hard, but it wasn't the real problem. The real problem was that most users opened the screener, added a bunch of random filters, got 300 results, and had no idea what to do next. Usage dropped off after the first week. We've since redesigned the UX, added preset scans, and watched how the traders who do find value in screeners actually use them. Here's what we learned. The Mistake Everyone Makes First Opening a screener without knowing what you're looking for is like opening Google without a question. You'll browse, click around, and leave without finding anything useful. The users who get results from screeners answer one question before they touch a single filter: what kind of trade am I looking for today? Momentum plays? Scan for strong relative volume and price near 52-week highs. Mean reversion? Oversold RSI + price nea