I am aware of that, you can position yourself in browsers if you pay money, just like with any commercial. But it's not only way you position yourself on google. You can be on page one, if you have readable content, hits and well optimized website for search engines. You can even learn to do that yourself. It's doable.
I found this very website via google search. I doubt it owners paid loads of cash to be on the first page of google search.
Is it an honest source? I kinda of depends wheter you guys create good content without hidden agenda
Any can put up content on the web so it's up to you to judge it's honesty. Usually you can tell wheter someone is expressing their views or try to sell you something. Good point about reading books though. But books or even scientific publications may also hold a bias, remember that.
I thing I found interesting watching pro-US media and Russia Today(watching events like Iraq qar/Syria war), is that often they are both telling the truth. But only a fraction of it, making your vision of the big picture skewed, it's also something to remember. Sometimes they are imo purposfully emitting rumours or not verified infromantion only because they fit their agenda(for example use of chemical weapons by Syrian Military - "a fact" which i am very skeptical about).