What is the impact of using non-standard or inconsistent event naming conventions in the data layer for custom events?

Using non-standard or inconsistent event naming conventions in the data layer for custom events significantly hinders data accuracy, reporting reliability, and overall tag management efficiency. When event names are inconsistent, Google Tag Manager (GTM) triggers that rely on those names may fail to fire correctly or may fire unintentionally on the wrong events, resulting in missing or inaccurate data. For example, if one event is named 'button_click' and another similar event is named 'buttonClick', you'll need separate triggers for each, making tag management more complex. Inconsistent naming also complicates data analysis, as reports may show fragmented or incomplete data due to the inability to aggregate events under a common category. This makes it difficult to identify trends or gain insights from the data. Furthermore, non-standard naming conventions can lead to confusion among team members, increasing the likelihood of errors and making it harder to maintain and update tags. Standardizing event names using a clear and consistent naming convention, such as using lowercase letters and underscores (e.g., 'form_submission_success', 'video_play_started'), improves data quality, streamlines tag management, and facilitates accurate and reliable reporting. A data dictionary should be created and shared to document and maintain the agreed upon naming conventions.