Google reported a 33 percent increase in revenue for the third quarter of 2011, helped greatly by Google+ and paid search, CEO Larry Page said.

In its release detailing its third quarter earnings, Google reported a 33 percent increase in revenue over 2010. According to the release, Google earned more than $9.7 billion in the three-month period.

Google CEO Larry Page pointed to a number of factors for the revenue increase. Perhaps surprisingly was his endorsement of Google+ as a positive influence in the company’s growth. According to Page, the social network recently surpassed the 40-million user mark, and he expects growth to continue as more people begin sharing content.

“We had a great quarter,” Larry Page, CEO of Google, said in a release. “Revenue was up 33 percent year on year and our quarterly revenue was just short of $10 billion. Google+ is now open to everyone, and we just passed the 40 million-user mark. People are flocking into Google+ at an incredible rate, and we are just getting started!” His confidence suggests that Google+ will become a viable social media marketing platform (and content distribution channel), but marketers might take Page’s comments with a grain of salt. As Brafton has reported, the network’s activity has greatly fluctuated in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Google’s search services seem more stable. Paid search revenue increased in the third quarter, with Google reporting an increase of 28 percent over 2010 and 13 percent growth compared to the second quarter of 2011. The increase in paid revenue demonstrates the value businesses have found in SEO and search marketing campaigns.

Brafton recently reported another push Google has given paid search. Google+ users can now +1 display ads based on the value of the landing page content they link to. Developing quality static pages on a website is critical to the overall quality of the website, especially since landing page content typically provides the final impetus in conversion.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.