@crazyguy
.1> Technically, it doesn’t prioritize advertizers. Well, it does display ads above the fold but the suffix “Ad” is its technical loophole. People do know that they are ads, so, big G escapes. Even if they don’t display above fold ads, Google has other ways to target you with advertizers. Let’s say you search for “boots” through the search engine, Google immediately taps into its advertizer database and links it to boots advertizers. From then on, every site you visit will miraculously have boots related ads. Every site that has google ads enabled on it, will show you your product. As a consumer, you won’t mind it either because you want boots and searched for them…those ads will eventually lead you to a place where you can actually buy those boots.But as a website owner who sells boots, this system is grossly injust. I won’t get anyone to my site, unless I spend 1000s of dollars on optimization or become an advertizer myself. That is the diabolical world we currently live in. Google rules over all of us.
2>Google never shared its algo. It only shares info on how some parts of the algo work. Even with that, they obfuscate and throw in many red herrings. People can reverse-decipher some parts of its algo (or so they claim) and that is why you see so many optimization theories floating on the net. Some of them are genuine. SEO is not trial and error, its processes are. If you want to optimize for keywords which is one part of SEO, you can do it in umpteen different ways. People keep discovering new processes and that takes a lot of trial and error. If you stick to tried, tested and proven methods, you won’t need to trial and error (you can leave that to others with more time and money).
3> Your best bet would be to not target google search at all! There are other ways to bring in target customers. Social media platforms are more effective…I mean to say, they are faster in bringing in potential buyers, especially home buyers. That is a big niche and you won’t be able to compete with the corporate heavy spenders who hog the search engine top folds. FB and its pals will bring in target audience for you.
Edit: Sorry, I forgot to say local marketing. When you target social media for buyers, always filter it down locally. Target people in and around the place where the house is. Don’t broaden your target audience, funnel it down.