Need some advice please re websites to be rented to local businesses

Hi all, I would really appreciate some advice. I've been trying to break into the renting out websites to offline businesses niche for about 12 months (off and on). Last November I purchased 6 domain names, all in the same niche, different cities in the UK, and set about getting the websites up and running. I then got sidetracked for 3 months by something else, and when that didn't pull off, returned to the original project. This is a bit of a long story, so please bear with me, but I want to ensure you have all the facts

So, when I returned to this in March of this year I found that one of my websites was ranking at number 8 on page 1 of Google for one of the targeted keywords (with only one small post of about 200 words). I added more relevant posts to the website, and to the other 5 websites and learned on the job how to do effective on page optimisation. My original website rose to number 6 then 5, then got stuck. My other websites were languishing in the rankings anywhere between page 5 and page 13!

I concentrated on the one website that was doing reasonably well and decided to return to the others when this one was up and running.

Then in June I rediscovered the Warrior Forum (you'll notice I joined a couple of years ago, but hadn't really returned since then), read numerous threads to find answers, have bought many WSOs in my quest for knowledge and become a student of all things seo.

But I'm still flummoxed and am increasingly frustrated...

Since June I have learned all about algorithm changes, backlinks and so on and so forth. I have done very little myself, instead preferring to pay for others to do it who obviously 'get it' more than I do.

In August I purchased a small package of EDU and social bookmarking links from a trusted source here on the WF. The day this person started on them was the day my website disappeared off Google altogether. I stopped looking when I reached page 30 and couldn't find my website anywhere. (The other 5 websites were still ranking, albeit in lowly positions several pages in), but this one had disappeared off the radar. Two weeks later it was back, but at the top of page 2. I put together a video on youtube, and within a week my website was at the top of page 1.

In the meantime I also discovered Google webmaster tools and ticked the box to ensure my websites were being ranked in google.co.uk. This made a huge difference and all my websites began their ascent up the rankings.

Two weeks later the first website dropped to #3, then 5 and 6. I then purchased another backlinking package from another trusted source on the WF. My website continued to slide down page 1, then disappeared a couple of weeks ago to page 8. Then last week out of the blue it made a 48 hour return to #1 of page 1, then disappeared altogether. Today I have checked and it's on page 8 again.

Meanwhile, my other 5 websites that I have done absolutely nothing with for months (4 of which have no backlinks whatsoever) have slowly risen, so much so that 2 of them are sitting at #2 on page 1, and the others are further down the page and top of page 2.

The reason I'm here is because I'm at a loss with my original website. I don't understand why one minute Google thinks it OK for the top of page 1, then the rest of the time it's demoted to page 8 and beyond. I've read all about the Google dance and in August I 'got' why that was happening, but now I just don't know. I don't get it because my other websites appear to have risen to fairly decent positions without my involvement.

I'm frustrated because every time my website gets into a position where I think it's OK to start contacting businesses to rent it out to them, Google does the dirty and moves it into an unmarketable position.

Please can someone shed some light so that I can move forward with this? This has knocked my confidence slightly, and even though I have 2 websites I can definitely market, I'm scared to do so in case they start dancing all over Google!

All input would be welcome. Thanks in advance.