I have a domain, example.com. My domain registrar gives me two options concerning email.

1. Set up forwarding email addresses (e.g., [email protected] forwarded to [email protected].
2. Set up Google Apps for email management

Thus far, I have gone with option 1. I have a generic GMail email, [email protected], and I subsequently set up various email addresses on my registrar to forward to this gmail address:

• [email protected] -> [email protected]
• [email protected] -> [email protected]
• [email protected] -> [email protected]

Through the GMail account, I have the option to alias these addresses when sending email. For example, from [email protected], I can "send email as" [email protected]. That way from the vantage point of the receiver of the email, the email came from [email protected] as opposed to [email protected].

My question is: Are there any disadvantages of this approach? Are these emails more susceptible to being picked up by spam filters vs using the Google Apps approach? Is there any hidden indication that the email is being aliased?

When viewing the email headers, it shows the email was sent from [email protected] and not [email protected] or "forwarded from [email protected]" or anything like that. Am I naive in assuming that my cheap approach to email is masked by aliasing my outgoing emails? I have chosen approach number 1 simply because of the ease of setup. With that said, are there any advantages of going with approach 2 (the Google Apps approach)? Thanks for suggestions and advice.