Google was crowned the world's most valuable brand on Wednesday by a research firm that found technology firms dominate when it comes to how much a name is worth in today's markets.

Google, IBM, Apple and Microsoft topped global stalwarts Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and Marlboro in a Top Ten brand value list packed with seven technology companies.

Google's brand was worth more than $US114 billion ($A124.55 billion), a 14 per cent climb from 2009, according to the annual Millward Brown BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report.

US technology titan IBM saw its "brand value" surge 30 per cent to $US86 billion ($A93.96 billion) while the worth of Apple's name climbed 32 per cent to $US83 billion ($A90.68 billion), according to the report.

Factors taken into consideration in the ranking include customer loyalty and opinions regarding brands and how they influence earnings.

Microsoft ranked fourth with its brand valued at slightly more than $US76 billion ($A83.03 billion), just ahead of the nearly $US68 billion ($A74.29 billion) that Coca-Cola's brand was said to be worth.

China Mobile, General Electric, and Vodafone claimed the eighth through tenth spots respectively. Social-networking powerhouse Facebook made it onto the Top 100 list for the first time with a brand value of $US5.5 billion ($A6.01 billion).

Electronics powerhouse Samsung saw the largest jump in brand value, soaring 80 per cent from the previous year to $US11.3 billion ($A12.35 billion).

"Technology brands demonstrated their pervasiveness in our daily lives," Millward Brown said in a release. "Use of social media was a key trend across many of the successful brands."

The overall value of the Top 100 brands rose four per cent to more than $US2 trillion ($A2.19 trillion), according to Millward Brown, which specialises in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research.

"This ranking has elevated the importance of building brands among some of the world's most successful companies," said Millward Brown global chief executive Eileen Campbell.

"CEOs and CFOs around the world should be asking their brand and marketing teams how they can leverage brand to both protect and grow the business."

© 2010 AFP