Looking For Pictures In the Cloud
- Sue Skavlem
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
Why looking at the clouds can help you with Google Analytics.
November 2025 | Sue Skavlem
What if I told you that looking for pictures in the clouds can help you understand how Google Analytics works?
Humans look for patterns in just about anything: Clouds, waves, lines, groups, time.
We can tell a story about each pattern with any grouping.
If you put more than one thing in a group, space, or drawer, we humans default to comparing them.
Junk Drawer Analogy
If you open up your junk drawer (midwest thing) - you can see what I mean.
Just try it.
If I open my junk drawer I can immediately group things by:
Usefulness
Things I keep just in case
Power
Value
Size
If you have a website or social media page, and you look at your analytics, it may feel like opening up that junk drawer.
What are all these things? What should be grouped together?
What patterns are important?
What story does the data tell?
Cloudscapes & Fog
Simple definition of data: Information. A thing that happens that you have a record of.
This data can be Actions that users take, it can be Ages of users, it can be location, it can be times of the day. Each piece of information is a data point.
When you look at all this information soup, it can be overwhelming - without grouping them together- it's like looking at a big cloud up too close.
A cloud too close to you is just fog. You can't see the patterns.
Luckily, clever people before us got great at grouping data together. They put tools in place for us to look at the big picture, and to group data together in such a way that it starts to tell us a story.
(Tools like Google Analytics Can Organize Your Data)
Looking at groups of actions that happen over time in:
Numbers
Charts
Locations
Time/Dates
Analytics is just a way to organize all that lovely information.
Finding Your Customer in the Patterns
Before you can really design & define your website. You need to know what your customer wants & values. Before you can find out what your customer wants, you need to know who they are.
This is where the Data and patterns (analytics) can tell the story.
Using Analytics you can find out:
Who They Are: Understanding demographics such as age, gender, and location helps you tailor your content. For example, if 70% of your visitors are between 25-34 and predominantly female, you write to and market to that audience
How They Browse: What pages do people gravitate to on your website? How long do they stay on that page? What do they click on?
What They Buy: If you’re running an online store, knowing which products are popular is key. How many people abandon their cart with that item in it? Do they ever come back?
With this information, you can create a relevant website - writing content with the tone and flair that speaks to the majority of your audience. And creating special pages for audiences you want to grow.
Setting Up Google Analytics
But how do you GET that knowlege?
You have to tell a tool (like Google Analytics) what information you want to start to keep track of.
Say you want to know if the majority of your customers are female, what page they spend the most time on, and what they click on?
You can do that.
Now that we know what we want to learn about our audience, it’s time to set up Google Analytics on your website.
This tool collects data on how visitors interact with your site, allowing you to see trends and patterns. It's like having a narrator helping you look for patterns in the clouds.
With Google Analytics up and running, you’ll start to see who your visitors are, what they’re doing, and how they found you.
Looking for Stories in the Data
Now comes the exciting part: finding stories in the data! Just like clouds can morph into different shapes, your data can reveal pictures and patterns about your audience.
By looking at your junk drawer of data (aka analyzing user behavior) you can improve the user experience, enhance navigation, and build stronger relationships with your online customers.
By understanding who they are, what pages they interact with, and what they buy, you can create a more focused experience for your users.
About the Author
Sue from Skavlem Designs
When I make a design, I think – What can this do?
These designs don’t just exist. These designs DO. They work hard alongside you and your business. These designs are levers. They are sales. They are engaged customers. They are brand recognition that gets you that meeting.
Top 3 things I love to do: Read. Paint. Snowboard.
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