Its one thing to have a Gmail account, but its another to manage your contacts effectively.
Whether youre using Gmail for work or just want an organized address book to make your life easier, this guide will teach you how to add contacts to Gmail in four different ways. Plus, theyre applicable regardless of whether youre looking to add a single contact or bulk upload over a thousand contacts.
In the digital age, we all accumulate countless contacts through work, friends and social networks. But simply having a contact doesn’t help much – you need to organize them for easy access and reference. That’s why learning how to properly add contacts to your Gmail account is a must if you want to make the most of your network.
With over 1.5 billion active users, Gmail is one of the most popular email platforms. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through the steps for adding contacts to Gmail on both desktop and mobile. Whether you want to upload existing contacts, create new ones, edit or delete contacts, these tips will help you build an organized contact list in Gmail.
Why Add Contacts to Gmail?
Adding your contacts to a Gmail account provides many benefits
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Access contacts anywhere – Gmail’s cloud-based contacts sync across devices for access on the go.
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Connect with colleagues – Store coworker contact details all in one place to easily collaborate.
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Stay in touch with friends – Add personal contacts to hook up by email or coordinate plans.
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Create contact groups – Organize contacts into custom groups for targeted communications.
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Never lose contacts – Gmail contacts are stored securely in the cloud so you’ll never lose them.
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Simplify communication – Email or call contacts directly from Gmail with integrated features.
Keeping your contacts updated and in order with Gmail saves you time and ensures you always have access to your network when you need them
How to Add Contacts on Desktop Gmail
Adding contacts via desktop Gmail only takes a minute
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Log into Gmail on your computer’s web browser. Click the apps icon (9 dots) in the top right.
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Select Contacts from the dropdown menu. This will open your contacts page.
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In the top left, click Create contact. A form will open to add details.
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Enter the contact’s name, email address, phone number, and any other info you want to save.
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Click Save at the bottom when finished to add them to your contacts.
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To add another contact, just repeat the steps starting from step 3.
Once added, contacts are accessible from the left sidebar in Gmail and other Google services.
How to Add Contacts on Mobile Gmail
Adding contacts via the Gmail mobile app is also quick and easy:
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Open the Gmail app on your iPhone, Android or other mobile device.
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Tap the hamburger menu icon in the top left corner.
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Choose Contacts from the menu. This will open your contact list.
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To create a new contact, tap the plus icon at the bottom right.
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Enter the contact’s name, email, phone number and other details.
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When finished, tap Save to add them to your contact list.
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Repeat these steps to continue adding more contacts on mobile.
With just those few simple taps, your mobile contact network is up to date!
Tips for Adding Contacts Efficiently
Here are some tips for supercharging your contact addition in Gmail:
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Add from Gmail signatures – Use the email address in a signature to quickly create a new contact.
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Import from other apps – Import contacts from your phone or other software like Microsoft Outlook.
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Create contact groups – Organize contacts into custom groups like ‘Work’ or ‘Friends’ to segment communications.
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Add profile photos – Upload a photo for each contact to easily identify them at a glance.
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Use Google Contacts app – The dedicated Contacts app provides more add and management options.
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Sync your contacts – Turn on contact syncing to access added entries across devices.
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Connect social profiles – Link contacts to their social media profiles like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Get More from Gmail Contacts
Once you’ve added contacts to your Gmail account, here are some of the things you can do:
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Email contacts directly from Gmail.
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Call or text contacts through Gmail on mobile.
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Segment contacts into groups for targeted emails.
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Share contact info with colleagues and teams.
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Export contacts to CSV or other formats.
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Print selected contacts for an address book.
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Integrate Gmail contacts with other apps you use.
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Merge duplicate contacts for cleanup.
The more you add, organize and utilize your contacts in Gmail, the more value you’ll get from your network.
Maintain Contact List Hygiene
Like any system, it’s important to perform regular maintenance on your Gmail contacts:
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Update details – Keep each contact’s info current so you have the right data.
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Remove stale contacts – Delete any old contacts you no longer need to maintain.
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Merge duplicates – If you have multiples of one contact, merge them together.
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Refresh groups – Check that your contact groups are still relevant and segmented logically.
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Connect social media – Link social profiles so contacts auto-update from platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
By keeping your contact list clean and organized, it will be a valuable asset for years to come.
You’re Connected!
Adding and managing your contacts is easy with Gmail – whether on desktop or your mobile device. Follow the steps in this guide to start building your contact list, and check out the tips to become a pro at organizing your connections.
With an up-to-date contacts list in Gmail, you’ll minimize communication friction, collaborate more efficiently at work and never lose touch with important personal connections again. So go ahead and start connecting!
Importing contacts into Gmail from a file
To easily import several contacts to your Gmail account, we suggest starting by creating a CSV file. You have two choices: create the file on your own, or grab a template online. Youll just need to input each of your contacts details into the file and then follow the instructions.
That said, its worth mentioning that Google only allows you to add so many contacts at once. If your CSV file includes more than 3,000 contacts, then this method wont work.
Here are the steps to follow after creating your CSV file:
- Open your web browser and go to the Google Contacts app.
- Choose Import under Fix & Manage on the left side of your screen.
- Choose Select File from the menu that shows up.
- Locate your CSV file on the computer and click on it.
- Click on Import and wait for Google to add your contacts to your Gmail.
For more details, Google has a great support page on importing contacts from a file.
Pro Tip: Instead of a CSV file, you can also use a vCard file. You can create one by using Excel, or you can download it from an email if someone sends it as an attachment to you. Then, follow the above steps. We recommend watching a video tutorial first because creating this file type, especially in bulk, can be tricky if it’s your first time.
Streamline your communication right from your inbox with Streak
Now that you know how to add contacts to your Gmail account, are you interested in streamlining your communication and tracking your clients and companies from one place? If so, youll love what Streak has to offer.
Streak is a CRM and project management tool that integrates directly with Gmail and comes with a game-changing feature called Contacts & Organizations. This capability compiles the information of your saved contacts in organized boxes and syncs them with your companys pipeline. This way, you can see which processes in your pipelines and workflows have pending actions from your contacts, and what the status of each action is.
The created boxes also show you all the email threads you share with the contact and let you track their activity task by task, which is a smart and convenient way to monitor team and personal performance.
And we havent even mentioned the best part — you can try Streak for free to see if it suits your working style. Plus, it only takes 30 seconds to get started.
