How long does it take for google to find and add citations to local pages?

Question

So I've been helping a friend update a listing of a local small business on google and also get the business listed in around 20 additional places that Google seems to like to use for reference in the same industry.

The problem is that it's been about 3 weeks and no new citations have shown up. I know Google can take up to 90 days to re-index traditional sites, but does anyone know how long they usually take for citations?

For example, the business now shows up on insiderpages.com... but that citation is no where to be found on google.

Answer 1

You might want to check out David Mihm's Local Search Ranking Factors: http://www.davidmihm.com/local-search-ranking-factors.shtml

It's the compiled results of an extensive survey given to several industry experts. It's a must read if you're doing Local SEO.

You might want to look specifically at factor 43 where Mike Ramsey states that:

"I have seen old and new listings perform well within 5 weeks of optimization."

In addition, if you haven't checked out http://getlisted.org/ (also run by David Mihm). It's a great site to submit your business listing on multiple websites.

Lastly, if your business is in the US, you can always ping me on twitter (@phaithful) and I can help walk you through improving your listing on http://yellowpages.com