For most private investigator profiles the best primary category is Private investigator — use it when: investigation services. Choose Security guard service instead if guarding. Many B2B and creative businesses have no shopfront. If clients never visit, set up a service-area profile and hide the address rather than listing a home address.
Open the free tool for a private investigator → tick what you really offer and get a copy-ready setup sheet
Primary category
- Private investigator — Investigation services
- Security guard service — Guarding
Secondary (additional) categories
Add one only if the condition is genuinely true at this location. Fewer, accurate categories beat a full list of nine.
- Process server — only if: process serving
Categories to avoid
These are often added to private investigator profiles but usually describe a different or broader business:
- Police department
- Lawyer
Address or service area?
Usually set up as a service-area business: hide the street address and list the cities, ZIP codes or postcodes you genuinely serve (up to 20). Don't create a separate listing for each town. Service-area vs storefront rules.
Starter services to add
Categories say what you are; services say what you do. Good first entries:
- Surveillance
- Background checks
- Process serving
Check before you change anything
Search “private investigator” on Google Maps in your own area, open the top few profiles and note their primary category (shown under the business name). Use what's common as a sanity check, not a template — your categories must describe your business. Ready to switch? How to change your category safely.
Profile problems?
Suspended, stuck in verification, or not showing on Maps? See the free fix guides: suspended profile · verification failed · not on Maps · name rules.