Information scent

According to information-foraging theory, people choose web pages based on how likely the page will answer their question and how quickly they can get that answer. This choice is called the information scent.^[1]

Imagine you're looking for a pizza recipe. You see two links — one says "Delicious Recipes" and the other says "How to Make Pizza." The second link has a strong information scent because it seems more likely to give you the pizza recipe you want.

Information scent is relative. For the pizza example, the "How to Make Pizza" link is great. But if you're looking for a salad recipe, the same link has a weak information scent because it doesn't meet your need.