I know, I know, that's not really an answer, but it's the only legitimate answer you're going to get, and here's why...

Nobody, no SEO expert, no SEO professional, no SEO company, can accurately predict how much work or how much time it will take to get a top ranking. Nobody can even guarantee a top ranking. That is, they can guarantee it, but guaranteed or not they only have partial control over the results. This is because Google is ultimately in charge, and as far as I know you can't buy them off. All you can do is optimize and hope for the best.

The way Google works is that they have an algorithm. It's a set of rules for how websites are ranked for keyword searches. For example, if you do a search for "utah web design" certain websites will come up first. Why do they come up first? There are hundreds of rules that affect those rankings. Some of the more important ones include the text contained in the title tags of the site, the content on the site, the number of other websites linking back to that site, and the text contained in those links that link back to that site.

The trick of SEO is trying to figure out all of Google's rules, which aren't explicitly published. Google gives webmasters some SEO tips, and there is a very helpful Google blog, but Google guards the exact recipe of their secret sauce the same way Coca Cola guards the exact mixture that goes into a can of soda. Because whoever you hire is not privy to that secret recipe, they can't guarantee results.

"Ok, so there are no guarantees, but I'm just trying to get a rough idea of what to expect, just give it to me already!!!"

Alright, here it is, but remember I can only tell you what I've seen based on my own experience, and here it is:

1. It is not hard to get a site ranked on Google within one month. I've done it myself, and my firm has done it time and time again. You may have heard of something called the sandbox, which is supposedly a holding place Google keeps site in until they've been around a while before they're properly indexed, but I've never had a website get stuck in it. Everything I've worked on or that my firm has worked on has gotten indexed almost immediately even if it wasn't indexed at all before. Maybe that's unusual, and maybe we're just that good, but I tend to err on the side of saying it's just not that hard.

2. Unless you are in a highly competitive industry (i.e. web hosting, real estate, bizop, etc.) you should be able to get some first page rankings within 3-4 months. But it depends! Oh, I know you don't want to hear that it depends, but there are so many factors involved I can't help saying it. There is no website out there just like your website. Every industry is different. Some are more savvy than others. Some industries are more competitive than others. Every website you are competing against has to be taken into account and no two websites are alike. But in my experience, if SEO is going to work at all, you should see enough results within 3-4 months that you'll feel justified in continuing your SEO campaign. If you don't see satisfactory results, then either SEO is not for you, or you need to hire someone else to take care of your SEO.

As for the second part of the question regardinng what methods will be adopted, I could give you the methods my firm uses, but let me give you some general advice.

1. Make sure whoever you hire uses ethical SEO methods. Some examples of unethical SEO methods are cloaking, kiting, hidden text, and stuffed meta tags.

2. Make sure whoever you hire is up to date on their SEO skills. I run into so many companies who are using someone for SEO, and when they tell me what the person is doing I groan because they're using SEO techniques that have been outdated for five years and are actually doing more harm than good.

Those first two are a little hard to verify, but here are some that are easier.

3. Make sure they give you monthly reports that include rankings, indexed pages, and various traffic reports. Again, I have visited with so many companies whose SEO consultants are not giving them any monthly reports. It usually turns out the SEO consultant isn't doing anything either, which is why they aren't providing reports because it would only show their lack of performance.

4. Make sure to get another monthly report that is an overview of the work that has been performed on your site. This report should probably be at least a page long each month. If they can't fill one page with explanations of what they've done, chances are they aren't doing much.

5. If you're not getting results, fire them. SEO should work for almost any company, so if your SEO consultant or SEO company isn't getting you results, get rid of them and try another one. If you go through four or five and nobody can provide you with results, then yes, perhaps SEO isn't for you.

6. Don't be confused. If what your SEO firm tells you is confusing then they may be just be bad communicators, but they may be pooling the wool over your eyes. There is a lot to SEO, and some of it can get complicated, and if you are technically illiterate then perhaps you'll be confused no matter what, but if you have even a basic understanding of how Internet marketing and search engines work you should be able to understand what your SEO consultant is telling you.

If you have more questions, don't hesitate to post a comment. If you've got a question, chances are 1,000 other people are looking for the same answer every month that you are.

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