For privacy reasons, I've decided to go ahead and change my ad numbers from my cell phone to a google voice number. For those that don't know, it's a free service provided by google that lets you choose a number to ring 1 phone or all your phones without necessarily displaying your number. They assign you a number of choice and you can check everything from voicemail/texts/missed calls online just as if you were viewing emails.

In the past week, I've googled my number to see it linked to ads, forum discussions and even websites that posted ads of me without my permission. It's definitely causing some privacy issues.

Problem is, google voice sometimes just lets the 'bot' phone just ring and ring. Sometimes calls don't go thru. I'm constantly have to be checking my email/google voice account to be sure I didn't miss a call. I tried it once for a bit until I realized calls weren't coming through. But then I switched back to it again because as I'm getting more experienced and known, and more wishing to keep a private personal life....the risk of missing calls versus being googled by someone isn't as big of a deal.

Is this something you'd try? I believe skype is similar, no?

Yeah, I don't understand that either - if I didn't want people to know my work number I just wouldn't advertise it, and if I don't want to answer it I just switch the call blocker on. If you advertise any number it's going to be connected to you somewhere, which is why it's so important to keep your personal and business phones separate.

If this is free for us to use, does this mean that punters would be charged a premium amount to ring it? I can't imagine Google (or anywhere else) just doing this for free.

I didn't find pay as you go to be cheap. I was constantly topping up, $10 a week...and sometimes at the expense of silly calls and endless texts.

The point of google voice would be to eliminate having to carry 2 phones and risk forgetting one or missing calls. So all calls could come to my personal number but the number displayed on my ad would be google voice's. Yes it's totally free to even for clients to call.

But, this morning I decided to just go ahead and start using my 2nd line again but get a new number because I was getting spam and 1800 number calls that I couldn't block.

Leaving aside the fact you are putting a further layer between you and potential clients
(calls not getting forwarded)
You are escorting in the USA where the Feds will readily bust you for same, given any chance to.
And through google, you are linking your home phone number and your personal cell-phone number to your escorting business?  (I understand that over your side of the Pond, a home phone number or personal cell-phone number can readily be used to identify a persons home address  ) That's a bit brave of you.
And also very trusting that google won't:

• At some point display all three numbers together in a google search result
  
• Make their database searchable for LEO's

What does your attorney say?

Seriously, don't use google voice.