UTM tracking / Google Analytics tracking
So the request for settings now offer both UTM lead tracking and Google Analytics tracking.
I've tried setting both up; I can see my request stats in my Google Analytics so I think that's working okay.
However I'm confused by the UTM stuff.
Both Google and Facebook no longer pass UTM, they pass gclid and fclid. Am I missing something; or is Jobber just behind the times expecting UTM to be passable in order to track leads from google ads, facebook, instagram etc?
That's a really sharp observation, and you're spot-on about the shift from manual UTM parameters to Google's "gclid" and Facebook's "fbclid" (or "fbadid") parameters for paid advertising.
Jobber isn't necessarily behind the times, but it is structured to capture UTMs which are a universal standard for tracking any campaign type, not just paid ads - think email, social posts, or referrals where you manually control the link.
Google and Facebook use those auto-generated IDs for better, more accurate click-to-conversion tracking, which is essential for their machine learning and optimization.
The reason you see Jobber focusing on UTMs is likely for simplicity and broad compatibility, as they can be captured on the front end easily, and Jobber reports already have fields for them.
They also support Google Analytics tracking, which is great for general website behavior, and it sounds like you have that part working well, which typically involves sending a 'generate_lead' or 'purchase' "Standard Event" when the form is submitted.
This event allows Google Analytics to attribute the conversion based on the "gclid" it captured on the landing page.
However, if you want that crucial, deep conversion data to go back directly into Google Ads and Facebook to optimize your bidding and audiences based on a real lead, you'll need a more robust, server-side solution because the lead-to-client conversion often happens *after* the initial form submission, and you need to link the original "gclid" or "fbclid" to the final client record in Jobber.
This is where the combination of the Jobber API, Google Ads API, Facebook Conversions API, and Google Analytics Data API, tied together with a tool like Stape or Google Cloud Platform, becomes a great solution.
You would use your server-side setup - often built with server-side Google Tag Manager hosted on Stape or Google Cloud Platform - to capture the "gclid" and "fbclid" when the lead lands on your page and pass those IDs to Jobber (likely stored in a hidden field on the request form or sent to an intermediary database).
Then, when the lead progresses to a new client or a quoted job in Jobber, the Jobber API would be used to trigger a server event.
This server event would contain the original "gclid" and the conversion details, sending it back to the Google Ads API for "Offline Conversion Tracking" or to the Facebook Conversions API for a 'Lead' or 'Purchase' "Standard Event".
This setup is incredibly valuable because it bypasses browser restrictions, improves data accuracy, and gives those platforms the high-quality, post-click conversion data they need to optimize your campaigns effectively, maximizing your return on ad spend.
