When it comes to optimizing an e-commerce checkout page from a Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) perspective, the user experience should be seamless and straightforward. One common practice is to collect the customer’s full name as a single field to minimize friction and improve form completion rates.
Like this,

However, for businesses utilizing Facebook Pixel, Conversions API (CAPI), and Google Ads Enhanced Conversion Tracking, sending the name as separate First Name and Last Name fields is essential for enhancing event match quality.

Here’s how to strike the right balance and ensure compliance without compromising user experience.

Why Splitting Name Fields Matters for Event Match Quality and Enhanced Conversions

Platforms like Facebook and Google rely on detailed customer data to match events effectively, providing better insights into user behavior and improving campaign performance. By sending First Name and Last Name separately, you enhance event match quality scores and contribute to more accurate attribution. This ultimately leads to better ad optimization, higher return on ad spend (ROAS), and deeper insights into the customer journey.

Google Ads’ Enhanced Conversion Tracking also benefits from detailed name data. Enhanced Conversions use first-party data to improve conversion measurement and ensure accurate reporting. When First Name and Last Name are available separately, it enhances the accuracy of data matching between your website and Google’s systems, supporting better attribution.

Best Practices for Collecting and Sending Name Data

• Keep the User Experience Simple

To maintain a streamlined checkout experience, collecting the full name in a single input field is a common practice. Users generally prefer this approach as it minimizes the number of required fields and reduces cognitive load.

Recommendation: Continue using a single “Name” field on the frontend of your e-commerce checkout page to ensure a frictionless user experience.

• Utilize Google Tag Manager (GTM) for Data Layer Customization

While collecting the full name in one field is ideal for user experience, splitting the name into First Name and Last Name for data transmission can be done using Google Tag Manager. By leveraging GTM’s custom variables, you can process the collected full name and send it to Facebook Pixel, CAPI, and Google Ads Enhanced Conversion Tracking as separate fields without changing the user-facing form.

Tip: Ensure your data layer on the checkout page captures the full name accurately. Use GTM to create custom variables that split the full name into First Name and Last Name dynamically before sending it to tracking tools.

• Prioritize Data Accuracy

Accurate data collection is essential for improving event match quality and enhancing conversions. Ensure that the full name field captures clean data (e.g., avoiding unnecessary characters or extra spaces) so your custom variables can correctly parse the name into First Name and Last Name.

Best Practice: Validate the name field to remove extra spaces and special characters before processing it in GTM. This step helps maintain data integrity and ensures that the names are parsed accurately for transmission.

• Test and Debug Thoroughly

Before deploying these changes, it’s crucial to test the setup to ensure the name parsing logic works as expected. Use GTM’s preview mode and testing tools like Facebook’s Event Testing Tool and Google’s Tag Assistant to verify that the First Name and Last Name fields are correctly sent and matched.

Pro Tip: Regularly monitor the event match quality score in Facebook Events Manager and review Enhanced Conversion data in your Google Ads account to confirm that your changes are positively impacting your data matching and overall ad performance.