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Google Contacts: How to work, backup, restore and all practical tips

First, let’s cover backup the basics. What is Google Contacts, and why does it look so familiar? Google Contacts is a tool that works like a mobile notebook and can be used as a standalone service and part of G Suite or Excel application tools (similar to Microsoft Office).Gmail

If you send an email to your friends via Gmail, the sent email will be automatically saved in your Google Contacts list. You can view these contacts by visiting the Google Contacts service at https://contacts.google.com. In this service, you can categorize contacts and update their information. You can also enter their phone number and create a regular list of contacts you are in contact with…

Why use Google Contacts?

You may have used Google Contacts before, even if it was not intentional. But now, we are trying to put Google Contacts in our routine and make the most of it. Here are some things you can do with Google Contacts:

  • Create, store and organize information for thousands of contacts.
  • Sync your contacts with Gmail to stay organized and fast.
  • Create groups to manage people simultaneously.
  • Search for the contact information of various people, including colleagues.

Note that the above list is not exhaustive: as part of the Google ecosystem, Google Contacts backup works in sync with other Google products, increasing each other’s productivity metrics. Services like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive will be much more efficient with the proper management of Google Contacts.

How to use Google Contacts?

Google Contacts is no more complex than other products published by Google, which means you can easily learn how it works. However, an effective way to do this would be to follow this comprehensive guide!
Where are my Google contacts?

You might be confused about where to find your Google Contacts because there is no direct link directly from Gmail to this application. But if you’ve been a Google user for a while, you may have seen the small Contacts button in the sidebar. This button has disappeared in the new updated version of G Suite.

Of course, it is better to say that its place has changed! Do not worry because there is a specific area for backup of all your contacts! You can reach your Google Contacts by scrolling to the app drawer icon at the top right of the screen and scrolling down.

1- Use shortcuts!

Step 1 – Enable your Gmail shortcuts. Go to the Settings option in Gmail and the first tab, or the General tab, scroll almost to the middle of the page to see the keyboard shortcut switch. Make sure this option is turned on because Google disables keyboard shortcuts by default. Save them after applying the changes!

Step 2 – Using the keyboard shortcuts, you can access Google Contacts by pressing “G” and “C” keywords. Yes, you guessed backup it, these letters stand for Google Contacts!

The most important thing about keyboard shortcuts is that you can access your Google Contacts anywhere in Gmail.

As soon as you enter the Google Contacts homepage, you’ll see a multilingual sidebar waiting for you to explore:

  • Contacts contain all the items you have saved in your virtual contacts list. Do not panic if this folder appears empty after years of being a dedicated GSuite user.
  • Frequently contacted shows you your favorite contacts.
  • The directory shows you information about people in your organization (only available to GSuite users).
  • The Labels section provides space for your target groups.
  • Other contacts, available at the bottom of this tab, show all the items not part of your contact list but with whom you have interacted…

How to save contacts in Google

Before you start scaring the small number of contacts on your contact list, let’s talk about how they appear. As mentioned earlier, you need to add people you want to see to your contact list. But how can you do that?

One way to do this is to click the Create Contact button at the top left of your Google Contacts page. You can add one or more contacts at a time. When you do this backup, you will see a form where you have to fill in the contact name, organization, job title, email address, phone number, etc.

If you want to add more information about your contacts, click the Show more button and enter all the information you have about that person. There are good options! For example, if you work with external partners, you may want to add a phonetic version of their name or give them a nickname. But sometimes, these options are not enough. And there comes a third-party tool!

What we did above is manually add new contacts to your contact list. But if you do not do this, Google will save the information of the addresses you interact with. All email addresses you have interacted with in any way (replying to them, emailing them, or even forwarding an email) will be sent to you to work on later. This option can be very useful, especially if you leave everything to ninety minutes.

2- Control your other contacts!

Step 1 – While in Gmail, go to Settings. Then scroll down to see the Create contacts for the auto-complete key.

Step 2 – Automatically create new contacts by selecting the radio button. I will add contacts myself.

You can save up to 25,000 contacts in Google Contacts.

Although it may seem like a lot, if you are a business owner and want to expand your network, you may feel how small that number is.
How to edit Google Contacts

You can save your new contacts automatically by the system and browse them later to save them properly. Editing contacts is very easy and does not take much time!

To do this, click on the contact and press the Edit button. You can make all the changes you want from there, don’t forget to save them.

You may want to edit some of your contacts (advanced editing).

Think about all the email addresses you have used in your life. It will be more than one case. Use different email addresses for convenience and work-life balance. This way, you can differentiate between your colleagues and friends.

3- Merge & Fix (audience integration and organization)

The good news is that Google Contacts does a lot for you! You have to pay attention to it and finish the results of the system. The merge & Fix feature allows you to merge the same contacts.

If you select the Merge button, Google will save both your email address and other information to get a nice, full profile card at the end.

Suppose you want to avoid wasting time and manually checking for duplicates and other errors among your contacts. You can delegate this task to an integrated Gmail CRM system, such as NetHunt CRM. To do this for you! Maybe the 5 minutes you save using NetHunt will give you enough time to increase sales!

How to back up contacts in Google

If you have saved your contacts on your device, you may want to back them up on Google. Whether you are using iOS or an avid Android user, backup techniques will vary.

Backup contacts on Android: You are in luck if you have saved a set of contacts on your Android device. Most likely, your Google Contacts will be backed up automatically without you having to do anything. By checking your Settings, you can ensure that everything is going according to plan.

Backing up contacts on iOS: Syncing Google Contacts will involve a few more steps if you’re an Apple fan. If you only want to back up once, you need to download a Google Drive app from the Appstore, go straight to Settings, and enable backup. This will bring all the contacts on your iOS device into Google Contacts. If you want to sync your device contacts with Google Contacts, you need to add your Gmail account in the Settings account and make sure contacts backup is enabled.

How to import Google Contacts

Google makes it very easy to import contacts into Google Address Book.

In the sidebar of the Google Contacts home screen, select the Import button. A loading window will appear asking you to import a .csv or .vCard file previously exported from other software. You can set up a label before importing your contacts (we’ll share more about that later.)

Keep in mind that Google Contacts has restrictions on the number of contacts entered per session. So, if you are moving to Google from another connection management system, you need to make sure that you have split your .csv into several files of up to 3,000.
How to export Google Contacts (Export)

With Google Contacts, you can import data and export data. If you need a regular file with all your contacts in recent years, you can export it with just a few clicks.

Expert templates supported by Google Contacts include:

Outlook .csv format exports all data and converts names to default character encryption.
The Google .csv format exports all data and uses Unicode to preserve international characters. This template is great for exporting data to Microsoft Excel, but some email services like Outlook are not compatible.
The vCard template is an Internet standard supported by many email and communication management applications.

How to transfer contacts from one Google Account to another

Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to moving contacts between Google Accounts with just one click. You need to know how to export and import contacts to do this.

The procedure is simple: you log in to the first Google Account that contains the contacts you want, select them and export them to your computer as a Google .csv file. Then, you sign in to the next account, go to Google Contacts, and enter the exported contacts. Simply!

How to share Google Contacts

Business owners know better than anyone that sharing is an important part of increasing productivity. If you want to be the best, you need to know when to turn to others for help.

This often means sharing communications and access to contacts in the business world. Sharing Google Contacts seems easy! Of course, with some requirements:

The directory administrator must enable contact sharing.
Contacts can only be shared with people in the same domain.
You and your agents must use a personal computer or laptop to access your contacts, not your phone or tablet.

Once all of these conditions are met, you can start sharing your contacts by clicking Invite delegate in the Delegate access section of Settings.

How to create a group in Google Contacts

Groups are, by and large, one of the most useful features of Google Contacts.

You can assign a custom tag to each of your contacts by selecting the people you want to be in a specific group and clicking on the Label icon at the top of the page. The system then suggests that you assign one of the existing tags to the selected contacts or create a new tag.