Have you ever thought about how many deals you lost because of an important email you never received (Quotation, CV, Requests, etc.) ?
In today’s article, we’ll cover how to set up a “catch-all” email setup within Google Workspace for one or multiple domains.
💡Why did I apply this to my company ?
This setup ensures that emails sent to mistaped or unrecognised addresses are rerouted to a designated inbox without needing to create individual users for each possible address. This is an efficient way to save time and avoid extra costs.
It will ensure that even if your sender miswrite the email address or your sales person (Miss Sylwia Zyzgonokoviskyvish), your company will still be in capacity to receive it and process it to reply to the good client.
Setting up a catch-all email solution can be transformative for companies managing multiple domains or handling high volumes of customer communications. It not only prevents missed emails but also streamlines communication by consolidating messages into a single, easily accessible inbox. This approach minimises administrative tasks, lowers email user costs, and ensures critical customer and business interactions don’t slip through the cracks.
For companies aiming to provide reliable and responsive service, implementing a catch-all email function is a simple yet highly effective way to maintain better control over communication channels and boost customer satisfaction. At Cloud Sultans, our mission is to help small and large businesses to better collaborate and achieve high productivity with their teams by maximising the power of Google Workspace (formerly GSuite). We can help you fix that.
📬 Understanding the Catch-All Feature
In Google Workspace, a catch-all email setup allows emails sent to nonexistent or mistaped addresses on a domain to automatically reach a primary inbox. Imagine a customer sending a message to,support@domain.com or info@domain.com but these addresses do not exist in your company, a catch-all setup can direct any such emails to a central account, such as help@domain.com.
From a general manner, a catch all will proceed to all messages sent to a user that does not exist in your company. It will catch all messages sent to whatever@myDomain.com to route it wherever user you want to.
It would catch all the mistyped email addresses too. An email sent to jeremi.picioni@gswift.fr (typo) would still reach the CEO of GSWIFT jeremi.piccioni@gswift.fr (right email address).
This feature reduces the number of individual users, saving costs while ensuring no email goes unanswered. And ensure, no messages sent to the company bounce back because of a typo from the sender. All emails can then be proceeded.
Imagine losing a million dollar contract because of a typo! Handy isn’t it ?
🛠️ Step 1: Navigating to the Catch-All Settings
To get started with configuring a catch-all, log in to your Google Workspace admin console. Head to Apps > Google Workspace > Gmail and look for Default Routing. This is where you’ll set up the routing rules for your domain.
🔍 Step 2: Configuring Default Routing with Pattern Matching
Inside Default Routing, you’ll see options for Single Recipient and Pattern Matching. Here, select Pattern Matching to customise the routing for emails sent to various addresses within your domain. Pattern matching ensures emails addressed to @yourdomain.com are captured and routed accordingly, regardless of the specific email prefix.
For multiple domains, pattern matching is crucial. Without this, your email catch-all would apply universally across all domains, potentially causing confusion. Setting the pattern to your primary domain (e.g., @gswift-cloud.com) keeps catch-all emails directed to the correct inbox.
What is Regex?
Regex, or Regular Expressions, is a sequence of characters that forms a search pattern, primarily used for pattern matching within strings. In the context of email routing, regex can specify patterns for which emails should be routed to a catch-all inbox. For example, you could use regex to match any address within a domain like `@example.com` without listing each individual email.
Regex can seem complex, but you don’t need to master it all! Learning the basics – like using wildcards or simple patterns is often enough. And now, tools like ChatGPT can create regexes for you. With the right prompt, you can describe what pattern you need, and ChatGPT can generate the regex expression, saving you time and effort.
Helpful Links:
– Regex Checker: Use this Regex Tester and Debugger to test your expressions live.
– Learn Regex Basics: Visit this guide to regex to get a handle on the essentials.
So while regex is powerful, today’s tools make it easier than ever to use it effectively without becoming an expert!
📝 Step 3: Adding “Catch-All” to the Subject Line
To make it easy to identify catch-all emails, add a prefix to the subject line. For example, you can add the term “Catch-All” to the subject of incoming messages. This way, emails to unregistered addresses appear with this tag, making them easy to identify and manage. Simply navigate to the Subject section in your Default Routing settings and add the term “Catch-All” as a prefix.
📩 Step 4: Setting the Destination Inbox for Non-Recognized Addresses
Next, specify the inbox where you want unrecognised emails to land. In the Also Deliver To section, enter the primary email address where these emails should be routed, such as help@gswift-cloud.com. Ensure the option to perform this action only on non-recognized addresses is checked—this setting keeps emails to recognized addresses separate from catch-all emails.
✅ Step 5: Testing the Catch-All Setup
After saving the setup, it’s essential to test the configuration to confirm it’s working as expected. Send an email to a non-existent address within your domain, such as peoplemeet@gswift-cloud.com.
If the setup is correct, the email will arrive in your designated catch-all inbox (e.g., help@gswift-cloud.com), with “Catch-All” in the subject line, helping you distinguish it from regular messages.
For the detailed information, you can go through this official help centre link.
🌐 Expanding Catch-All Across Multiple Domains
For businesses with multiple domains, a catch-all setup is even more beneficial. By using pattern matching, Google Workspace will automatically apply the correct routing based on each domain’s catch-all rules. This means that emails sent to any domain you manage can be channelled to a designated inbox, keeping your communication streamlined without needing separate user accounts for each domain.
💰 Avoiding Extra Costs with a Catch-All
One of the primary advantages is getting all messages addressed to your company and proceeding with them. Another advantage is no bounce back email. Never. Most of the time people don’t understand the bounce back message from google and won’t realise there is a typo in the email address in 80% of the cases. So they will think the company has a problem and give up.
Without this feature, you would need to pay for each individual email address as a separate user in Google Workspace. With a catch-all, emails addressed to various addresses all flow into a single inbox, reducing the need for extra accounts and saving money.
✨ Additional Uses for Catch-All Emails
Beyond cost savings, the catch-all setup offers other practical benefits. For instance, if customers frequently reach out to various departments, the catch-all ensures their emails are received, even if they use incorrect addresses. It also enables employees to manage responses from a single inbox, streamlining customer service without the need for multiple logins.
Many people have complicated names in their company. Which creates tons of typo when reaching them for the first time.
ProTip for medium and small company: Set the email address with forename.name@company.com BUT add an alias with only forname@company.com and set this one as primary. It makes things easy for customers.
🛠️ Troubleshooting Your Catch-All Setup
If the catch-all setup isn’t working as expected, double-check that you’re using pattern matching and have selected the correct option for non-recognized addresses. Also, ensure you’ve specified the exact domain in your pattern settings to avoid conflicts with other domains. Should issues persist, Google Workspace support can provide additional guidance.
⚠️ Warning: Increased Spam and Phishing Risk with Catch-All Setup
Implementing a catch-all email setup can lead to a rise in spam and phishing emails reaching your inbox. This is because a catch-all function accepts emails sent to any address within your domain, including those that may be randomly generated by spammers or phishing attackers. Without the usual rejection of unrecognised addresses, catch-all can make it easier for unwanted or malicious emails to reach your organisation, potentially exposing your team to security risks. To mitigate these risks, consider enhancing your spam filters, setting up strong email security protocols, and training your team on phishing awareness.
Any questions, comments, or reactions about our article, we’re happy to hear that in the comment section below. We always love diving into healthy discussions. If you also feel that you haven’t been using Google Workspace at its best, reach us at (Cloud Sultans: contact@cloudsultans.com). We offer free consultation or system audit to find you the best possible solution.
