Should I "Remove" Blank Pages from My Resource Website?

advertisers getting spooked

[jo1ene]

About six months ago, I took charge of a resource website, which generates revenue through advertising. Basically, we provide expert information on a region information page, and several category pages under it are comprised of listings of "resource providers" in that region. There are no free listings BTW; the owner wants it to be semi-exclusive.

I rebuilt the website with a CMS and populated all the possible pages that would be needed for the sake of being consistent. There are 60 regions with 30 categories for each. We assumed that the pages would have to exist before sponsors could be found for them. (Right?) I also hoped that there might be SEO advantages if the "theme" for each region were complete. So we have:

Region 1
--Category A
--Category B
--Category C
Region 2
--Category A
--Category B
--Category C

etc.

Many of the regions and categories are new and don't yet have any listings - meaning that there are no previous advertisers. The problem is that potential advertisers are now looking at said regions and categories and they are turned off by the lack of listings. While I welcome commentary on the advertising model, my real question is:

Should I remove the blank pages from the navigation system?

The pages would still exist so we won't get 404s and the work I did in the first place would not be all wasted.

Also, the region information page would still be in the menu.

[buckworks]

Consider populating the empty pages with free listings to make sure there's something there, then replacing them with paid listings as you sell more.

[jo1ene]

That was my other thought. But finding 1,800 free listings, at least, is going to take some time. What to do until then?

[adamxcl]

I'd work on it as fast as you can and just get it done in a few days. Hire freelancers if needed to get it done soon. If you can get one bit of original stuff on each page and add more later, it would be great. I think that's better than either pulling the pages and adding back later...or leaving them empty or anything that could be flagged as duplicate content.

I did a similar thing once and the real advertisers started pouring in once it looks more legit and prosperous. No one wants to be the only paying business in a region or whatever on a website.

[jo1ene]

I did a similar thing once and the real advertisers started pouring in once it looks more legit and prosperous.

This is a good point. Thank you. I had a hunch that this was the way to go, even though it would be a lot more work. Also, I think this will satisfy both factions - the take 'em downs vs. the leave 'em theres.