how long does it take for a new website to rank in the top results for main competetive keywords queries.
As jackburton said, results vary considerably but these are some results I have achieved within the last two weeks or so: MSN: 10 days = Page posted live on April 28, 2006, debut at #2 on May 7, 2006. Current position #1 of 12,531 results for "GoDaddy Promo Code" Yahoo: 5 days = same page, same live date, debut at #15 on May 2, 2006. Current position #2 of 39,700 results Google: it's taking them longer this at present but in the past I've made top 10 in a week or so for related keywords. These results are for competitive keywords and phrases for brand new web pages. I think these are quite good and quick results. Usually I'd expect it would take somewhat longer for the average site to even get listed. I hope this helps.
It depends on many different factors. One of my sites in less than a month listed on first 10 among 14 400 000 sites on google for that keyword. I also have a sites that are not indexed by google at all.
That depends on: 1- What are the search engine(s) you are optimizing your site for? 2- How competitive are the keywords you are targetting? For me, it takes less than a week or so to rank well in MSN. Yahoo! might take almost a month. On the other hand, Google can take anywhere from 3 to 9 month.
It's almost impossible to calculate this. You have to start working on your keywords and review them periodically. That way you can start finding your best keywords and optimization strategy.