Baidu, operator of China’s biggest Internet search engine, posted a 91 percent increase in third-quarter profit in October after surging Web usage enticed more firms to buy advertising on its site.

The company reported a solid 347.86 million yuan ($ 50.9 million US) profit for the period, up from 181.73 million yuan a year earlier. Sales rose 85 percent to 919.13 million yuan from 496.5 million yuan as more customers shelled out on their bids for keywords on the search engine, which dominates two-thirds of the mainland market.

Baidu said that it expected sales to grow by between 80 and 85 percent this quarter to between 1.025 billion and 1.055 billion yuan, a figure higher than what most analysts forecast. 

They are worried that the company’s income will be hit by the current economic slowdown and sharpened competition from Google and Alibaba Group’s Taobao. But Jason Brueschke, head of Asia Internet and media research at Citigroup, opines Baidu’s diversified customer base will help it weather the financial storm better than its competitors.

Its paid customers increased 35.7 percent to 194,000 in the quarterly period. Their average expenditure was up 34.3 percent to 4,700 yuan, though this was less than the previous quarter.