The cheapest way to buy Google/Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) stock is with a good broker and plan. In this guide, I’ll show you exactly how to put it all together.
Buying GOOGL shares might seem like a daunting process — especially if you’re a newer trader. That’s why we’ve written a step-by-step guide to walk you through the process and help you understand the most affordable way to buy Google stock.
If you look at Google’s chart, you might think it isn’t cheap anymore. I like to say that the best time to start trading was 20 years ago — but the second best time is today.
Let’s get into it…
How to Buy Google Stock (NASDAQ: GOOGL)
Here are five simple steps to buy Google stock.
1. Open a Brokerage Account that Lets You Trade Google Stock
Any U.S. broker should let you trade Google stock. In addition to letting you trade Google shares, a good broker will provide educational materials, research tools, and quick executions.
Pay attention to commissions and fees when choosing a broker. This may be the difference between a profitable trade and a losing one.
I give some good tips on choosing a broker in this video:
One of my top criteria for choosing a broker is their trading platform. I use StocksToTrade, which will let you trade with the most popular brokers.
StocksToTrade has assembled the best charts, the most versatile screeners, the most probing news scanners, and more to create a one-stop trading machine. I think it’s the best way to trade.
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2. Decide on Your Investment Goals and Risk Tolerance
Are you saving for retirement? Or are you looking for short-term returns?
Trading Google stock has to fit your investment goals. Hitting your goals is why you’re trading in the first place!
Google stock is what is called a “growth stock.” It’s a sector leader and projects to keep growing…
But it can be volatile too. That’s not great if you can’t afford to lose some or all of your investment.
3. Do Research on Google Stock
There are two main types of research you can do on a stock: fundamental and technical analysis. Some traders and investors use one type of analysis more than the other, but both are important to understand:
- Fundamental analysis involves looking at the value of the company and stock. This can involve looking at the company’s financial reports, revenue, dividends, and fundamental indicators like price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. These fundamentals help you understand the underlying value of the stock, which may eventually be reflected in the stock’s actual price.
- Technical analysis involves looking at a stock’s chart. Chart patterns can help you identify trends that fly under the radar, and find trading opportunities that others don’t see.
In addition, you should keep on top of Google news, as well as sector and macro-economic developments.
Upcoming events like product launches or earnings reports can massively affect a stock’s value. Larger pieces of news or developments that affect the company or sector can also be powerful catalysts.
4. Build Your Google Stock Trading Plan
A trading plan will help you focus on your goals, and avoid impulsive moves. Your trading plan could be long-term or short, but it should always focus on your goals.
A good trading plan should include:
- Entry. The price you want to buy Google stock at.
- Risk. The amount of money you’re willing to risk losing.
- Goal. The amount of money you want to make on your trade.
Here’s my guide to building a trading plan.
If you’re investing, your goals and risk will be different. They may be for your position to grow by a certain percentage each year…
Even if you’re intending to hold Google stock long-term, I think you should still have a clear risk outlined to safeguard your gains. You can always buy more Google stock — as long as you still have the money to do so!
5. Place Your Google Stock Order
Once you have a good plan, it’s time to put it into action by placing your Google stock order.
There are a few steps to this:
- Place a buy limit order. You should always place limit orders, as opposed to market orders. This way you’ll be sure that your actual entry matches your trading plan.
- Set a stop-loss. You should always have a stop-loss set, even if it’s just mental. I recommend a physical stop-loss if you can’t watch the market every day.
- Follow your trading plan. It’s tempting to adjust your trading plan on the fly. But a wishy-washy trading plan is a poor foundation for sustainable success.
Should You Buy Google Stock?
You should buy Google stock if it fits your investment goals, and your research indicates that there’s an opportunity.
Like much of the tech world, GOOGL set all-time highs in 2021. It spent most of 2022 downtrending, losing about 40% by the time the year was out.
GOOGL’s value has climbed over 40% through the first five months of 2023. It’s a big name in the AI game. That could be worth a LOT as the world becomes more dependent on AI.
There are other growth stock options out there! Check out our guides on the cheapest way to buy Apple (AAPL) stock, Facebook (META) stock, and Walmart (WMT) stock.
Pros of Buying GOOGL Stock
There are a number of advantages to buying Google stock.
- It’s still the biggest name in search. Despite all the uncertainty as to what the internet will look like in the future, it’s a safe bet that we’ll still be using Google.
- It’s a leader in other sectors too. It isn’t just Google you’re getting with this stock. YouTube is only growing, Alphabet is one of the leaders in cloud computing, and Google’s Bard AI outperforms ChatGPT at some tasks.
- It makes money. Ads are the business model, and Google has consistently produced big returns.
Cons to Buying GOOGL Stock
Here are the cons you should weigh when making this decision…
- AI could change everything. If Microsoft’s ChatGPT-equipped Bing search can keep making strides, it might eat into Google’s biggest business.
- Samsung might drop Android. Samsung has tried to replace the Google-powered Android OS in the past. While it doesn’t seem like it’s likely now, it still might happen.
- Regulatory Issues: Google’s business model relies on user data. Governments around the world are increasingly concerned, which may impact Google’s bottom line.