# How do I mark an email address as important in Gmail? — Adinand Email Cleaner

Last reviewed: October 14, 2026. HTML version: https://adinandemail.com/answers/always-mark-a-sender-as-important-in-gmail

**Make a filter for that address and choose the action that marks mail as important. Google's categories page names the option directly: "For specific senders, you can set up a filter that: Marks their emails as important"** ([*Organize your emails into categories*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/3094499), read 14 October 2026). Clicking the marker on one message only corrects that message; a filter covers every future one from the sender. Why Gmail marks things on its own is a separate question, answered on [why Gmail puts mail in Important](https://adinandemail.com/answers/gmail-going-to-important-folder).

## Making the filter <p>Gmail filters are built on a computer. Google's steps ([*Create rules to filter your emails*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6579), read 14 October 2026):</p> <ol> <li>"In the search box at the top, click Show search options."</li> <li>Put the address in the From field. "If you want to check that your search worked correctly, see what emails show up by clicking Search."</li> <li>"At the bottom of the search window, click Create filter."</li> <li>"Choose what you'd like the filter to do", here the important option, then click Create filter.</li> </ol> <p>A shortcut from the same page: tick an email from that sender, click More, then "Filter messages like these", and the From field is filled in for you.</p> <p>One oddity worth knowing. That filters page lists its actions as "send email to a label, or archive, delete, star, or automatically forward your mail" and does not mention importance at all. Google's Workspace tips page does: "Choose what you want Gmail to do to these messages, such as archive, apply labels, and marking as important" ([*Tips to optimize your Gmail inbox*](https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282734), read 14 October 2026). Neither page quotes the exact wording of the checkbox, so look for the option about importance in the list Gmail shows you.</p>

## More than one address <p>One filter can hold several senders. Google's own example is a filter for "important email from your manager or anyone you don't want to miss", with two addresses joined by OR, and the rule "(If you list more than one email address, you must include OR.)" ([*Advanced Gmail filters for work or school*](https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9300019), read 14 October 2026). That example applies a label called VIP rather than the importance mark; the OR syntax in the From field is the same either way.</p>

## Where marked mail shows up <p>Marked messages carry a yellow importance marker, and "To see all your emails that are marked as important, search Gmail for is:important" ([*Importance markers in Gmail*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/186543), read 14 October 2026). The mark matters most with an inbox type that uses it: "If you choose "Important first," your inbox will be separated into two sections: "Important" at the top, and "Everything else" at the bottom", and Priority Inbox can show an "Important and unread" section ([*Change your Gmail inbox layout*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/186531), read 14 October 2026). On the Default inbox the marker is just a small flag, which is why a filter can seem to do nothing. [Priority Inbox](https://adinandemail.com/answers/priority-inbox-in-gmail) explains that layout.</p> <p>If markers are switched off in Settings, Inbox, under "Importance markers" with "No markers", you will not see them at all (the *Importance markers* page above). Check that before deciding the filter failed.</p>

## What Google's pages leave open <ul> <li>**Mail already in your inbox.** The filters page does not say whether a new filter acts on messages you already have. For the older ones, the importance page's own method still works one message at a time: "click the importance marker".</li> <li>**Who wins.** The importance page says Gmail learns from what you open, reply to and mark, and it does not say whether its own prediction can later overrule a filter. We have no Google source either way.</li> </ul> <p>A related use, from Google's spam page: for a sender whose mail you keep finding in Spam, "you can create a filter to label their email as important or another option that you choose", or add them to your contacts, after which "Gmail stops sending their messages to Spam" ([*Report spam in Gmail*](https://support.google.com/mail/answer/1366858), read 14 October 2026).</p>

Related: [Why Gmail marks mail Important](https://adinandemail.com/answers/gmail-going-to-important-folder) · [How Gmail filters work](https://adinandemail.com/answers/gmail-filters) · [Priority Inbox](https://adinandemail.com/answers/priority-inbox-in-gmail) · [Editing or deleting a filter](https://adinandemail.com/answers/delete-a-gmail-filter)