Spitzer Scandal Sheds Light On Web Prostitution

The controversy surrounding New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has shed light (a red light) on a number of underground activities. Besides government corruption and the sex trade in general, Spitzer's use of the Internet to connect with prostitutes is exposing a huge industry with which people may not be familiar. Or even know exists.
Editor's Note: So it turns out that escorts and/or their agencies have excellent web-marketing skills, a revelation we can thank Gov. Spitzer for. But this little investigation found a staggering number of virtual red-light districts complete with good SEO and paid search advertising campaigns. There's so much to say about this, so let it be said in the comments section.
The online escort/call girl/"model"/prostitute scene isn't so hard to find, though. Just use Google. If the organic results don't fit what you're looking for, AdWords can help, too. The truth is, investigating this scene is much like investigating the adult entertainment scene. The breadth, depth, and scope of prostitution available via online booking is staggering, indicating that just like the online porn industry, sex trade is not just a huge industry, but one that employs cutting edge marketing techniques, and one that apparently is thriving.
Just Google It
It's unclear at this point exactly how Governor Spitzer was referred to the Emperor's Club website. But if he's a self-starter, he could have used a search engine like Google. A search for [new york call girls] for example brings up a host of relevant organic links, most of which seem to be news article related. The sponsored links, though, are another story. Sponsored results for these keywords brought back websites like BadGurlModels (screen shots will be provided but no links), HourGirl, and a site advertising "full service" $50 half-hours and $100 hours. Full-service is, according to research, code for you-know-what.
Similar results came back for [full service escorts] and [ny gfe]. "GFE" is another code meaning "girlfriend experience," which means the escort is open to certain things like kissing and other "girlfriend"-type activities. [ny gfe] brought 491,000 results in Google, along with their very own targeted ads. Not all incarnations of the word "prostitute" work, by the way. A search for "whore," for example, brings back a myriad other results. Apparently the connotation of that word has changed a bit.