Excellent original post -- I think most folks think that, by using a templated site, they will get traffic with lots of backlinks. The whole idea of search engines is that they provide relevant info to the user. It has to be fresh, reliable, and related to their search.
I think that you will find that you can compete with good keywords in you
SEO focus. You will not compete with broad terms (stocks, credit, movies, pets). You will need to appeal to a niche that has not been exploited. Check your competition and see how and why they rank.
ERIC