Search engine giant Google has emerged as the world’s biggest brand. Google is now worth almost 25% more than Microsoft, crossing the $100 billion (£68 billion) value mark, according to the fourth annual BrandZ top 100 most valuable global brands ranking.

Despite the tough economic climate, Google’s label value has rose 16% in a year, while the overall value of the top 100 brands has risen by two per cent in the past year. The company’s value of $101.4 billion makes it 25% more valuable than the second largest brand, Microsoft, which is worth $77.3 billion.

This is the third consecutive time that Google has topped the list, making it a truly phenomenal brand- to which Lorraine Twohill, marketing manager, said:

“We know that without consumers you have nothing and there is a great element of trust in us.

“We think about the consumer first and expect everything else to fall into place after that. We don’t feel big. We still work in little crappy teams and we feel very small.”

The Brandz study said in a year of global financial turmoil, when every key financial indicator plummeted, the value of brands remained strong. Furthermore, the ‘recession depression’ which has taken over the world, seems to have significantly helped fast-food, cigarette, and alcohol brands. McDonald’s recorded a 34% increase in brand value, followed by Marlboro (33%), and Budweiser (23%).

The top 10 brands: