I think it may be the style in which you build your sites that makes them appear templated or very similar. You use large fonts, a lot of underlined/linked text, and these brackets >>><<< in your links. Sometimes your color choices are a bit painful.
Your sites would be better if you linked only a small portion of your ad text to the sponsor, instead of the entire blurb. More than one line of linked text looks like hell.
Make sure that the site's enter link is prominant. If it is right next to a sponsor text link, the enter font should be the larger of the two and the word enter should not be anywhere else on the index the page, especially not in a sponsor link.
Also, watch the spacing in your thumb tables. Make sure that they appear spread evenly or that their layout is controlled. Otherwise they look sloppy.
Surf around and take a look at how your competition is building their sites. It's ok to walk away with a little stylistic inspiration.