The typical link building conversion rate from first email to published backlink is 1-2%. Hunter's
link building outreach guide maps the full funnel: from 1,000 prospects, roughly 50 reply (5%), 25 respond positively (50% of replies), and 13 publish a backlink (50% of positives), giving you a 1.3% end-to-end backlink outreach success rate. This means you need 75-100 qualified prospects in your pipeline to produce one link. When calculating link building ROI, factor in prospecting time, email tool costs, and the opportunity cost of your team's hours.