Adding contacts to your Gmail address book allows you to easily keep track of people you communicate with frequently. Having your contacts organized in one place saves time and ensures important messages don’t end up in spam. There are a few ways to add new contacts to your Gmail.
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Add a Contact Directly in Gmail
The easiest way to add someone to your contacts is directly from a message they sent you.
- Open the email message in your Gmail inbox.
- Hover your mouse over the sender’s name or email address at the top.
- Click “Add to contacts” in the pop-up that appears.
- Edit the new contact by adding any additional information you want to save.
- Click “Save” to add them to your contacts.
Now when you start typing their name or email address to send them a new message, Gmail will auto-complete it from your contacts.
Manually Add a Contact
You can also manually add new contacts even if you haven’t received a message from them yet.
- Open contacts.google.com in your browser.
- Click the “+” icon and select “Create contact”
- Enter the contact’s name, email address, phone number, and any other info you want to save.
- Click “Save” to add them to your contacts.
Import Contacts from Another Service
If you have contacts stored elsewhere, you can import them instead of adding each one manually. As long as you can export contacts to a CSV file, you can import that CSV file into Gmail.
Here’s how to import contacts:
- Export contacts from another service as a CSV file and save it on your computer.
- Go to contacts.google.com in your browser.
- Click the options icon (3 vertical dots) and select “Import”.
- Choose the CSV file you exported and click “Import” to add those contacts.
Organize Contacts with Groups
Once you have lots of contacts, you’ll want to organize them into groups so you can easily email specific people.
- Go to contacts.google.com
- Click “Create group”
- Give the group a name like “Family” or “Work friends”
- Check the boxes next to each contact you want to add
- Click “Add” and “Save” to create the group
Now you can select that group name when composing a message to quickly email everyone in it.
Best Practices for Managing Contacts
Follow these tips as you build and organize your Gmail address book:
- Add new contacts right away – When you get a message from someone new, add them to your contacts immediately so you don’t forget.
- Use groups – Organize business contacts, friends, family members and others into separate groups.
- Merge duplicates – If you have the same contact listed multiple times, merge the duplicates so all info is in one place.
- Export backups – Occasionally export your contacts as a CSV file as a backup that you can re-import if needed.
- Link social profiles – Connect your contacts’ social media profiles like Twitter and LinkedIn to their contact card.
- Add a photo – Adding a photo to each contact makes them more recognizable when messaging.
- Keep personal contacts separate – Use a secondary Gmail account for personal contacts to keep work and personal communications separate.
- Review frequently – Set a reminder to review your contacts for duplicates, missing info or other issues once a quarter.
Access Contacts from Your Phone
Your Gmail contacts automatically sync between your computer and mobile devices when you use the same Google account.
On an iPhone
- Open the Contacts app
- Select “Groups” to access contact groups you created
On Android
- Open the Contacts app
- Select your Gmail account to view those contacts
- Tap the menu to access contact groups
Now you can easily stay in touch with important contacts right from your phone.
Conclusion
Organizing your contacts may feel tedious, but ultimately saves you time communicating. Adding new contacts right away, organizing with groups, merging duplicates, and regularly reviewing your address book makes Gmail contacts more useful and effective. Refer to this guide anytime you need a refresher on managing your Gmail contacts.
