Interesting article about
how people use web sites.
* Users approach information spaces with a specific mission in mind. The best sites design the scent for those missions.
* Users first scan the page for 'trigger words' -- the word or phrases that will trigger them into clicking on a given link.
* If they don't find appropriate trigger words, they'll often resort to the site's Search function. (In essence, they are creating their own scent.)
* As users start to click, scent is more about eliminating choices -- things it's obviously not. As the user continues to click, the scent becomes more about honing the right content.
* Users deduce part of a link's scent from its proximity to related links. Groups of links can increase the scent of each individual link contained in the group.
* Users expect every click to make them more confident they will find their result. When the page that results from a click doesn't increase the users' confidence, their frustration increases and they consider abandoning the quest.
