What is Information scent?
Information scent is the degree to which a link, label, or navigation element suggests that it will lead to the information a user is seeking. Users follow strong scent and abandon paths with weak scent.
How it works
The concept comes from information foraging theory (Pirolli & Card, 1999), which models web users as animals foraging for food. Just as predators follow scent trails to prey, users follow information cues to content. Scent is determined by the similarity between a user’s goal and the text, imagery, and context of available links. When scent is strong (link text closely matches the user’s need), users navigate confidently and efficiently. When scent is weak or ambiguous, users hesitate, backtrack, or abandon the site entirely. Improving information scent through better labels, descriptive link text, and contextual cues is one of the most cost-effective ways to improve navigation.
Applied example
A support site labels a troubleshooting article ‘KB-4523: Network Configuration.’ Users searching for help with their Wi-Fi never click it because the label provides no scent for their problem. Relabeling it ‘Fix Wi-Fi Connection Problems’ dramatically increases click-through from search results.
Why it matters
Information scent is the mechanism by which users make navigation decisions, and weak scent is one of the most common and fixable causes of user disorientation and task failure.
