REDMOND, WA — Microsoft believes all clicks are not created equal, and the company has developed a tool it says will help marketers develop a better understanding of the real relationship of links to Web users’ buying habits.Called the Engagement ROI (return on investment) tool, the product is expected to launch in beta this week as part of Microsoft’s Atlas Media Console. Microsoft acquired the console during its $6 billion all-cash acquisition last year of digital marketing service and technology firm aQuantive.

According to Microsoft, the last click a user makes before he buys isn’t necessarily the most important in the revenue stream. Working on the assumption that users view related ads several times before finally deciding to spend money, a process called “Engagement Mapping” helps advertisers track the pattern — say from a video ad one day to a text link the next and finally to the banner ad that results in a sale.

“Under our [Engagement Mapping] model, those will share the credit,” John Chandler, a principal analyst for Microsoft’s Atlas division, told News.com.

Engagement ROI allows advertisers to parcel out credit among the various publishers whose links ultimately led to the sale instead of giving all the credit to the final click. In this way, Microsoft hopes advertisers will be able to spend their advertising dollars more effectively, and publishers will be able to avoid having their links undervalued.