Information scent comes from "information foraging theory" — the idea that users behave like animals tracking prey. They follow trails of cues (headings, link text, images, visual patterns) that signal whether continuing will lead to what they want. When the scent is strong, they keep going. When it fades, they leave.
This is the fundamental explanation for most bounces on landing pages. Someone clicks a Google ad for "project management for remote teams" and lands on a page with a generic hero that says "The All-in-One Platform for Modern Teams." The scent just got weaker — the specific thing they searched for (project management, remote teams) has been replaced with vague language. The more specific the traffic source, the stronger the landing page scent needs to be.
Strengthening scent on landing pages
The easiest fix: mirror the language from your traffic source in your headline. If the ad says "AI Writing Assistant," the landing page should say "AI Writing Assistant," not "Smart Content Platform." Message match is really just information scent applied to the ad-to-page transition.
Below the fold, scent is maintained through clear section headings that preview content, descriptive link text (not "Learn more"), and visual cues like icons that help users predict what each section contains. Every time a user scrolls and finds what they expected, scent is reinforced. Every surprise weakens it. Consistency isn't boring — it's navigable.