How To Configure Your Custom Domain Email, Step 1: Signing Up for Google Apps

Have you configured blogger’s publishing settings?

Go to Google Apps.
Click on the blue box (on the right-hand side) that says “Compare Editions and Sign Up.”
Click on the “Sign Up” button under the Standard Edition package (it’s free).
If you’re the Administrator of the domain, click the Administrator radio button.
Enter your domain name in the box (e.g., www.customdomain.com)
Click Get Started.

The trickiest part of the set up is the Verification. You have to verify that you own the domain you say you own. I used the CNAME method (Google Apps also offers you the option to upload an html file; I didn’t do that).

Google Apps will tell you what CNAME entry to create. For example, google might tell you to make an entry with the Host Name googleffffffffexample3 and point it to google.com.

To do that:

Log into your account at GoDaddy.
Under “My Products” in the left-hand menu, select Domain Manager.
Click the name of the domain you want to map.
Click the “Total DNS Control and MX Records” link at the bottom of the section entitled “Total DNS.”
Expand the CNAMES (Aliases) section (if it isn’t already) by clicking on its plus-sign.
Click “Add CNAME Record.”
In the name box, enter the odd-looking string google assigned to you (e.g., googleffffffffexample3).
In the Point To box, enter google.com
Click OK. (You should get the box that confirms your action. Click OK.)
Proceed to Running an NSLookup.