Based on the BusinessWeek/Interbrand Top Most Valuable Brands in the world, FutureLab ranks the online relevance of those brands.

The purpose: to highlight to senior executives the importance of paying close attention to their brand’s performance in the online arena.

The method: ranking is based on the number of times the brand’s name appears in leading search engines like Google, Baidu and Technorati, the number of links to the brands website, its reach and Page-rank relevance, and the number of times people express their “love” or “hate” for the brand.

The Top 10 (Interbrand/BusinessWeek position in brackets):

1. Google (38)
2. eBay (55)
3. Apple (41)
4. Amazon.com (68)
5. Disney (7)
6. Yahoo! (58)
7. Microsoft (2)
8. Canon (35)
9. Nokia (6)
10. Sony (28)