Most articles normally tell people what to go for in SEO. Sometimes it is worthwhile understanding what practices should not be undertaken, either because they result in penalties or simply because they are looked down upon. Here is a list of the 3 activities you should not get involved in if you want your SEO to show results:
1. Do not submit to directories: Now, a lot of people will argue that it is the directories which has provided them traffic and tons of links. First of all, directories do not provided any meaningful amount of traffic because everyone seems to be submitting to them. Secondly, because they contain only links and no content, the link juice that they provide you is minimal. And because they contain only links, most of them are now regarded as link farms and can get you penalized. Some people will argue that just because they are linking to you does not mean you get penalized, but I find that your rankings suffer if you submit to directories. It is better to stay safe.
2. Do not try anything black-hat: Well, to be more accurate, do not try anything black-hat if you want your website to function for the long-term. I have heard about many internet marketers who undertake black hat activities on their websites and make a ton of money. Although they get penalized later on, the money that they wanted to make has already been made. But if you have a legitimate website, do not load up your website with keyword stuffing, invisible text and sneaky redirect scripts. Understand the fact that search engines are much better now at recognizing sneaky tactics and you can get into a lot of trouble for short term gains.
3. Do not invest in low-quality links: If someone offer you 5000 links from their private network of websites for only $129.99, do not accept it. First of all, private networks can easily be caught as unnatural link building and get penalized. Secondly, just because of the nature of this technique, the links you get will have minimum to zero value. It is not a good return on your investment.
Remember, SEO is now a game of providing quality content and getting good quality inbound links. If you want your SEO to provide you with revenue, make sure you do not undertake anything mentioned above.
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