Google was going "gangbusters" during the quarter, Google CEO and co-founder Larry Page said in a conference call Thursday with financial analysts.

Google ended the quarter with revenue of US$9.72 billion, up 33 percent year on year, as both the price and volume of its pay-per-click ads increased. Subtracting commissions and fees paid to partners, revenue was $7.51 billion, exceeding the consensus estimate of $7.21 billion from financial analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

The company had net income of $2.73 billion, or $8.33 per share, up from $2.17 billion, or $6.72 per share, in 2010's third quarter. On a pro forma basis, which factors in certain one-time items, net income was $3.18 billion, or $9.72 per share, beating the analysts' consensus expectation of $8.74 and exceeding the $2.46 billion, or $7.64 per share, in last year's third quarter.

Google's new social networking site, Google+, has amassed more than 40 million members, Page said, a figure he is satisfied with because it signals, in his view, that people are "flocking" to the site.

Google+ is important to the company because it will influence and improve Google's other products, Page said, as people use it to share content and interact.