How long does SEO take?

The answer to this question depends on the context of the question; whether you mean, how long it takes to see results, or how many hours it takes to do optimize a website.

1. If you mean how long does it take to see results of an SEO campaign, then the answer is, nobody knows. Search engines crawl websites at their own rate. It could be a day, or a few months to achieve positive results. That being said, we have usually seen results within 30 days, and even as quickly as a week, but be aware, as stated on other answers here to our FAQ's, be weary of any company that promises instant results. There is no way of knowing when your website will be "crawled" because it is a random process.
2. If you are asking how long it takes, that depends on the project, and the type of website. In our experience, the initial setup takes much longer than regular SEO maintenance; usually between 5-10 hours, depending on the website, and what's being done. Sites with lots of content, and dynamic urls can take 2-3 times that. After the initial setup, it usually takes between 2-4 hours per week to perform SEO.