How to handle no ad pages or no search result pages for a classifieds website?

[SirishaNueve]

We have a classified website.
We have started doing SEO for classifieds search pages so I have submitted some pages to Google using sitemap.xml ex: www.domain.com/search/austin.
If there are any Ads in the Austin location then Google is considering it as soft 404 errors in GWT.
I am submitting them to Google yet there are no Ads because at some point users may add Ads and by that time my URL need to be in Google.

My question is how to handle the page which doesn't have any Ads?
Please let me know and guide me if I am wrong.

[Roman-Delcarmen]

Those pages that do not have Ads which actually is considered as a content are considered as low-value (thin content) pages and also those pages will consume part of your crawl budget. So let me explain my point.

Thin content
So what is thin content? Thin content is content that has little or no value to the user. Google considers doorway pages, low-quality affiliate pages, or simply pages with very little or no content as thin content pages. But don’t fall into the trap of just producing loads of very similar content: non-original pages, pages with scraped and duplicate content, are considered thin content pages too. On top of that, Google doesn’t like pages that are stuffed with keywords either. Google has gotten smarter and has learned to distinguish between valuable and low-quality content, especially since Google Panda.

So in your case, the pages with no Ads meet with the criteria_** content that has little or no value to the user. **_First, let's assume one thing, there is no manual of how to deal with your case.

1. Create content for those pages inviting them to register to your directory website If you have a problem with thin-content on your site, you can take steps to beef up its quality and meet your target audience’s needs. Consider some of the most commonly recommended SEO best practices for improving thin content.
2. Keep those pages away from Google until they have content. Remove unnecessary pages. Instead of letting a poorly performing page impact your SEO goals, take it down. Eliminate all duplicate and irrelevant pages. Scaling back and refocusing on quality can help brands identify and invest in more value-added topics.

Thin content is a barrier to SEO success, but you can easily remedy this incredibly common problem with a focus on quality over quantity. Before you publish any new content to your site, ask these questions: Does the content align with the chosen topic? Have we presented the information in an original way? Will it add value to our users?

Focus on your Taxonomies

Implementing categories and tags on your website is an important way to add structure to it. These taxonomies group content on a certain topic. When used properly, Google will understand the structure of your site better. Categories have a hierarchical structure. There can be subcategories within categories. Tags do not have a hierarchical structure. Think of it like this: categories are the table of contents of your website, and tags are the index.

Your category archives are more important than individual pages and posts. If you sell boxers and you optimize every product page, all those pages will compete for the term ‘boxers’. You should optimize them for their specific brand and model, and link them all to the ‘boxers’ category page. That way the category page can rank for ‘boxer’, while the product page can rank for more specific terms. This way, the category page prevents the individual pages from competing.

In your case, if you have a directory website and you promote dentists in Austin you should focus on that category page rather than focus on every single ad of each dentist