Bring your existing Google contacts into your CRM in minutes — without manual data entry. Connecting your Google account lets you import contacts directly from Google Contacts into your CRM in a few steps. This article covers how to run a Google Contacts import and answers the most common questions about how the import works.

Why Importing Google Contacts Saves Time and Improves Your Outreach

Many small business owners already have years of client and prospect contact information stored in Google Contacts — collected from Gmail conversations, phone contacts synced to Google, and manual entries over time. Manually re-entering all of that information into a new CRM is time-consuming and error-prone. The Google Contacts import lets you bring all of that existing data into your CRM at once, so you can start sending follow-ups, booking appointments, and running campaigns against your full contact list from day one.

The import checks for duplicate contacts automatically — contacts whose email addresses already exist in your CRM will not be imported a second time, keeping your contact list clean. You can import all of your Google contacts at once or search for and select specific contacts individually, giving you full control over what enters your CRM.

How to Import Your Google Contacts into Your CRM

Follow the steps below to connect your Google account and import your contacts. You will need your Google account credentials available before starting.

1. Click Contacts in the left-hand navigation. Then click People from the Contacts submenu. The People page opens and displays your existing contact list.

   

   The screenshot above shows the left-hand navigation with Contacts expanded and People selected. The People page on the right displays your existing contacts and includes the Import contacts button and the + button in the upper area of the page.

2. Click the Import contacts button in the upper area of the People page. Alternatively, click the + button and select Import contacts from the dropdown menu that appears. The import source selection screen opens.

   

   The screenshot above shows the People page with two ways to start the import — the Import contacts button and the + button dropdown. Both options open the same import source selection screen.

3. Select Google Contacts from the list of available import source options. The Google sign-in screen opens.

   

   The screenshot above shows the import source selection screen with available import options listed. Google Contacts appears as one of the selectable source options. Selecting Google Contacts proceeds to Google's sign-in screen.

4. Sign in to the Google account whose contacts you want to import. Enter your Google email address and password on the Google sign-in screen and complete any two-factor authentication steps required by your Google account.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Google sign-in screen. Enter the email address for the Google account that contains the contacts you want to import and click Next to proceed. If you have multiple Google accounts, sign in to the one that contains the contacts you want to bring into your CRM.

5. On the Google permissions screen, click Allow to grant your CRM access to your Google Contacts. This permission allows your CRM to read your Google Contacts list for the purpose of the import. Your CRM does not store your Google account credentials.

   

   The screenshot above shows the Google permissions screen listing the access being requested. Clicking Allow grants your CRM read access to your Google Contacts so the import can proceed. If you click Deny, the import will not be able to retrieve your Google contacts.

6. Your Google contacts load on the contact selection screen. To import all of your Google contacts at once, click Select all. To import specific contacts only, type a name or email address in the search field to find individual contacts and select them one at a time. The Google contacts list is sorted with the most recently updated contacts at the top.

   

   The screenshot above shows the contact selection screen with contacts loaded from your Google account. The search field at the top allows you to find specific contacts by name or email. The Select all option selects every contact in your Google Contacts list for import. Contacts whose email addresses already exist in your CRM are automatically excluded from the import — they will not appear as duplicates in your contact list.

7. Click the Next button to proceed to the marketing email consent screen.

8. On the marketing email consent screen, indicate whether the contacts you are importing are expecting to receive marketing emails from you. Select Yes if these contacts have given you permission to send them marketing emails — for example, if they signed up for your newsletter or opted in through a form. Select No if these contacts have not given marketing email consent — they will be imported as contacts but will not be opted in to receive broadcast marketing emails.

   

   The screenshot above shows the marketing email consent screen with two options — Yes and No. Selecting Yes marks the imported contacts as opted in to receive marketing emails. Selecting No imports the contacts without marketing email opt-in status. If you are unsure, select No — you can update individual contact opt-in status after the import is complete.

9. Click the Finish Import button to complete the import. Your CRM begins processing the import immediately.

10. A confirmation message appears on screen indicating that your import was submitted successfully. The imported contacts will appear in your People list once the import processing is complete.

    

    The screenshot above shows the import confirmation screen with a success message. The message confirms that your Google contacts import has been submitted. Imported contacts will appear in your People list once processing is complete — processing time varies depending on the number of contacts imported.

Frequently Asked Questions About Google Contacts Import

What does this article cover?
This article covers how to import contacts from Google Contacts into your CRM using the Google Contacts import option. This article does not cover importing contacts from a CSV file, importing from other sources, or syncing contacts on an ongoing basis. To import contacts from a spreadsheet or CSV file, see How to Import Contacts from a CSV File into Keap™.

Is this a two-way sync between Google Contacts and my CRM?
No. The Google Contacts import is a one-way, one-time import. Contacts are brought from Google into your CRM at the time of the import. Changes made to contacts in Google after the import are not reflected in your CRM, and changes made in your CRM are not pushed back to Google Contacts.

How is the Google Contacts list sorted during the import?
The Google Contacts list on the contact selection screen is sorted with the most recently updated contacts at the top. Contacts that have not been updated recently appear lower in the list.

Does the import check for duplicate contacts?
Yes. The import checks for duplicate contacts by comparing the email address of each Google contact against the email address fields in your existing CRM contacts. Contacts whose email addresses already exist in your CRM will not be imported again. Contacts with no email address or with an email address that does not match an existing contact will be imported as new records.

I was not able to import my contacts. What should I do?
If the import did not complete successfully, restart the import by clicking the Import contacts button on the People page. When the Google account selection screen appears, select Use another account and re-enter your Google account credentials. This clears any cached session that may have caused the failure and allows you to authenticate fresh.

The import could not find any contacts in my Google account, but contacts are saved on my phone. What should I do?
Contacts saved on your phone may not be stored in your Google account — they may be saved to your SIM card or a different Google account than the one you signed in with during the import. To check which contacts are stored in your Google account, log in to Google Contacts at contacts.google.com and review the contacts listed there. If your contacts do not appear in Google Contacts, they will need to be synced to your Google account from your phone before the import can retrieve them.