I Built a 99% SEO Website in 12 Minutes (Claude Code + Astro)

Answer Capsule

Google just released Gemini 3.1 Pro, one of the most capable AI models available right now, and you can use it for free inside Antigravity (a free AI coding tool). In just 2 prompts, you can build a complete, SEO-ready directory or business website using the Astro framework, then host it on Cloudflare for free. The only thing you pay for: your domain name.

Why Does a Free AI Model Change Everything for Website Builders?

Because "I can't afford good AI tools" is no longer an excuse.

Until now, the best AI coding models sat behind expensive API subscriptions or Pro plans. You either paid up or settled for weaker models. That's changed.

Google's Gemini 3.1 Pro is available for free inside Antigravity, a free AI coding tool you just download and connect to your Google account. No subscriptions. No API costs. No credit card. Just access to one of the most powerful AI models on the market right now.

For anyone building SEO-optimised websites, local business pages, or niche directories, this changes the maths completely.

And before you think this is just a toy: I built a complete fly fishing lodge directory site for Patagonia in 2 prompts. With navigation. With SEO metadata. With individual lodge pages. In roughly 5 minutes of actual generation time.

Let me walk you through exactly how it works.

What Is Antigravity and How Do You Get It?

Antigravity is a free AI coding environment where you can run powerful AI models to build websites and applications.

To get started:

1. Download Antigravity for free
2. Connect it to your Google account
3. Select Gemini 3.1 Pro High as your model
4. Start building

That's it. You now have access to Gemini 3.1 Pro. The same model that would otherwise require API credits or a paid plan.

There are token limits (as with any free tier), but for starting a project from scratch, getting a working prototype, or building out a client site, the free allowance is more than enough to get serious work done.

What Is the Astro Framework and Why Should You Use It?

Astro is a modern web framework built for performance and SEO.

I've been using it a lot lately, and for good reason. If you've been building on WordPress or Webflow and want more control and better performance, Astro is the upgrade you're looking for.

Here's why it works so well for SEO:

• Static output by default: Pages render as plain HTML, which loads fast and indexes easily
• No client-side JavaScript overhead: AI search engines and Google crawlers love clean, fast pages
• Structured output: Built-in support for clean heading hierarchies, meta tags, and schema
• Deploys anywhere for free: Cloudflare Pages, Netlify, and Vercel all have generous free tiers

We've already covered how to build a 99% SEO website in 12 minutes using Claude Code and Astro. The approach with Gemini 3.1 Pro inside Antigravity follows the same philosophy: let AI do the heavy lifting, but build on a framework that handles SEO fundamentals out of the box.

What Does the Full Free Stack Look Like?

Here's the complete tech stack with zero ongoing costs:

• Antigravity (free download) - Your AI coding environment
• Gemini 3.1 Pro (free via Antigravity + Google account) - The AI model doing the building
• Astro (free, open source) - The web framework
• Cloudflare Pages (free hosting) - Where your site lives

Total cost: $0/month. You only pay for a domain name (usually around $10-15/year).

That's a production-ready, SEO-optimised website for the price of a domain. If you're building sites for clients, the margin on that is pretty interesting.

How Did 2 Prompts Build an Entire Website?

Let me show you exactly what happened in the demo.

Prompt 1: Build the Directory

The first prompt was simple:

"Build a fly fishing lodge directory for the south of Chile in Patagonia using the Astro framework. Make it look clean and professional."

What Gemini 3.1 Pro generated in about 2 minutes:

• A homepage with a search bar and filters
• Feature listings for 6 lodges with different card designs
• Animated icons (it found these somehow)
• Working navigation
• An "explore directory" page
• SEO title tags (Patagonia Fly Fishing Directory) auto-generated
• Heading structure set up correctly

Was it perfect? No. The images were missing (Gemini 3.1 Pro can't generate images, which is expected). The filters weren't functional yet. Individual lodge pages weren't built yet.

But for one prompt, this was not bad at all.

Prompt 2: Complete the Lodge Pages and Add Interactivity

The second prompt:

"Complete the individual lodge pages so we can see them. On the homepage, add more interactive elements. Be creative."

What came back in about 3 minutes:

• Individual lodge pages with gallery sections, guide profiles, and booking info
• A review section added to lodge pages
• An FAQ section
• Subtle animations on the homepage
• An almost Apple Liquid Glass-style visual element on the experience section

Again, not client-ready straight out of the box. But as a foundation to build from? Absolutely solid.

How Do You Make the Design Look Good?

Here's a practical tip for anyone doing vibe coding (building with AI): give the AI examples to work from.

There's a free template library called 21st.dev that has a huge collection of animated buttons, cards, hover effects, and UI components. You can browse the library, find the component you want, copy the prompt for it, and say:

"Use this template for this section."

The AI will implement the component with the animation intact. The free version of 21st.dev gives you access to a lot of quality components, and it's the kind of shortcut that makes an AI-built site look significantly more polished without any extra design skill required.

Does an AI-Built Astro Site Have Good SEO?

Yes, with a bit of guidance, and here's where the Astro framework earns its reputation.

In the demo, after the second prompt, the site automatically had:

• A proper title tag (Patagonia Fly Fishing Directory)
• A reasonable heading hierarchy
• Clean page structure

What it was missing: schema markup and a few more H2 headings on individual pages.

Both are easy fixes with one more prompt. Just tell the model:

"Add FAQ schema markup to the lodge pages and homepage. Add more H2 headings to break up the lodge page content."

This matters because, as we've covered in the AI Ranking community, schema markup gives you a 3.2x higher probability of appearing in AI-generated answers. And pages with proper heading structure get cited more often in AI Overviews and ChatGPT responses.

The Astro framework handles the technical foundation. You prompt the model to add the semantic layer on top.

Can You Host This for Free?

Yes. Cloudflare Pages is the recommended option.

Cloudflare has a free tier that handles static Astro sites without limits on bandwidth. The process is:

1. Push your Astro project to a GitHub repository
2. Connect the repository to Cloudflare Pages
3. Set your build command (npm run build) and output directory (dist)
4. Deploy

Your site goes live on a Cloudflare subdomain (free), and you can point a custom domain at it for the standard domain cost.

The speed benefits are significant too. Cloudflare's global CDN means your pages load fast from anywhere in the world, which matters for both user experience and AI search engine citations (slow sites get skipped).

How Does This Compare to Building with Claude?

Honestly? Both are strong, but they have different personalities.

Anthropic's Claude (especially Claude Opus 4.6) tends to be more creative and produces more aesthetically interesting outputs. Google's Gemini 3.1 Pro is fast and capable but leans slightly more conservative and structured in its design choices.

For pure website building speed and the fact that it's completely free, Gemini 3.1 Pro inside Antigravity is hard to beat right now. For more creative or nuanced projects, Claude is still my go-to.

The real win here isn't "which model is better." It's that you now have access to multiple world-class models for free. Use whichever fits the project.

Real Results: What Happens When You Build Sites That Rank

One of our community members, Steven, built 800+ location pages for a client using proper on-site SEO fundamentals and a similar systematic approach to page generation. The result: 105 online appointments in a single month, with pages indexing in Google within an hour of submission.

That's the kind of outcome you get when the technical foundation is right. Astro gives you that foundation. Gemini 3.1 Pro inside Antigravity gives you the speed to build it.

The AI Ranking community has members building directory sites, local business pages, and niche content hubs using exactly this approach. The ones who focus on getting the fundamentals right alongside AI-assisted building are seeing real results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Gemini 3.1 Pro actually free inside Antigravity?

Yes. Download Antigravity for free, connect your Google account, and select Gemini 3.1 Pro High. There are token limits on the free tier, but for starting and building out projects, the free allowance is substantial.

Do I need coding experience to use Antigravity and Astro?

No. The whole point of AI coding tools like Antigravity is to let you build in plain English prompts. You describe what you want, the AI writes the code. Astro is the framework running underneath, but you don't need to touch the code directly to get a working site.

Is the Astro framework good for SEO?

Yes. Astro builds static HTML by default, which means fast load times and clean pages that search engines (and AI search engines) can easily crawl and index. It also supports schema markup, meta tags, and structured data out of the box.

How do I add schema markup to an Astro site built with Gemini?

Just prompt it. Tell Gemini 3.1 Pro: "Add FAQ schema markup to the homepage and individual pages. Add LocalBusiness schema to the lodge pages." The model will generate the structured data and inject it into the appropriate page components.

Can I use this for client work?

Absolutely. The free stack (Antigravity + Gemini 3.1 Pro + Astro + Cloudflare) can produce production-quality websites. Add your own domain, customise the design with prompts, and you have a site you can hand to a client. The margins on this kind of project are excellent.

What's Coming Next

I'm planning a full walkthrough video: building a complete, SEO-optimised website from scratch using Gemini 3.1 Pro, Astro, and Cloudflare, all for free. If you want to see that, let me know in the comments on the YouTube video.

For now, the best next step is to download Antigravity, connect your Google account, and run your first prompt. The barrier to building an AI-powered website just dropped to zero.

If you want to go deeper on optimising what you build for AI search, including how to make sure ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews actually cite your pages, that's exactly what we cover inside the AI Ranking community.

Join 477+ SEO practitioners building for the AI search era: AI Ranking Community

Resources

• Google Gemini 3.1 Pro announcement
• 21st.dev component library
• Build a 99% SEO website in 12 minutes: Claude Code + Astro
• How to Get Found in AI Search
• The Capsule Content Method
• How to Write Content That Ranks in AI Search
• Claude as Your SEO Assistant

To write content that ranks in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, you need seven elements: strong SEO fundamentals, concept-based writing, clear formatting for extraction, simple language, Q&A structures, personal experience, and data-backed claims with sources. After helping over 400 businesses rank in AI search, here's the exact framework we use, plus a free prompt to implement it.

Why AI Search Engines Are Ignoring Your Content

You could spend hours writing your next blog post only for AI to never even see it.

Google might not even index it (meaning it never makes it into their database). And if Google doesn't index it, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews won't find it either.

The traffic from AI search engines converts up to 4.4x better than traditional search. Seer Interactive found ChatGPT traffic converting at 15.9% compared to Google organic at 1.76%. AI-referred website sessions have grown 527% since early 2025. If your content isn't showing up, you're leaving serious money on the table.

The good news? There's a framework for writing content that AI search engines can't ignore. It comes from years of hands-on SEO experience, helping more than 400 businesses rank in AI search, peer-reviewed research, and a useful article from Microsoft on optimizing content for AI search.

Do SEO Fundamentals Still Matter for AI Search?

Yes. SEO fundamentals are still the foundation of everything. Microsoft says it right away in their optimization guide, and we've proven it over and over again with our community members.

• Page speed: How quickly does your website load?
• Metadata: Do you have optimized title tags, meta descriptions, and H2 headings?
• Internal linking: Is your website linking between pages effectively?
• Technical health: Is your site crawlable and indexable?

Without these basics, you won't rank in AI search. Period.

One of our community members, Steven, created over 800 service/location pages for a client with proper on-site SEO fundamentals. The result? 105 online appointments in a single month, breaking their previous record. His pages were indexing within an hour of submission to Google Search Console.

I hear people say, "I just want to do GEO or AI SEO. I don't want to do regular SEO." That's like saying you want to learn butterfly stroke without learning how to swim. One doesn't happen without the other.

Should I Still Focus on Keywords?

Not the way you used to. The old playbook was to find a keyword with low competition and high search volume, then inject it as many times as possible without getting flagged for keyword stuffing. That doesn't really work anymore.

Use keyword research as a guide. But then ask yourself: what is the concept this keyword is actually trying to answer? Write for that concept. Answer it thoroughly. Research shows that content containing original insights not easily found elsewhere is one of the strongest differentiators for cited pages.

How Should I Format My Content for AI Search?

Format for clarity and extraction. Break long walls of text into bite-sized pieces where each section can stand on its own.

This is the answer capsule approach applied throughout your entire post. Research shows 72% of pages cited by ChatGPT have a self-contained answer in the first 40-60 words. Pages with answer capsules see a 40% higher citation rate overall.

Quick Formatting Checklist

• Use H2s and H3s to break up content
• Keep paragraphs short (2-4 sentences max)
• Each section should make sense on its own
• Lead each section with the direct answer before expanding

What Reading Level Should I Write At?

Write at an eighth-grade reading level. This comes from a peer-reviewed research paper that found writing at this level makes your content significantly more approachable.

This doesn't mean dumb down your content. It means don't add unnecessary complexity. If a 14 to 16 year old can understand it, you're on the right track.

Why Should I Use Q&A Formats in My Content?

Because it's simple and incredibly effective. Use an H2 or H3 to ask a question about the topic. Then answer it as quickly and concisely as you can in the first sentence or two.

AI search engines are built to answer questions. When your content is already structured as questions and answers, you're handing it exactly what it needs. Pages with FAQPage schema markup have a 3.2x higher citation probability.

How Do I Add Personal Experience to My Content?

This is probably the most important element. It's related to what Google calls E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness).

Generic Example

"Pricing pages are an important part of any website. To optimize your pricing page, consider simplifying your options. This can lead to increased conversions."

Fluffy. Nothing an AI couldn't just generate itself.

Specific Example

"When I helped a SaaS client restructure their pricing page in 2023, we saw a 34% increase in conversions within 60 days. The key was simplifying from five tiers to three."

AI can't replicate that. Brands publishing proprietary data see 45% more AI citations.

Real Results From Our Community

William Moon, a financial advisor in Arizona, was ranking #1 on Google but his CTR was 0.3%. We gave him a prompt to optimize his title tags and meta descriptions. His CTR jumped to 2.3%, and he closed a deal worth $165,000.

Tim Armstrong had a client receive a mortgage lead directly from ChatGPT. The customer said, "ChatGPT told me you might be the best option in America for this." GPT handed the client a lead because good on-site SEO and capsule content was in place.

Members in Ireland are getting cited in Google AI Overviews after implementing just a fraction of this content strategy.

Sarah M., an agency owner, used the AI content writing checklist and got cited by ChatGPT within 3 weeks. Her AI-referred traffic went up 200%.

How Do I Back Up My Statements With Data?

Always support your claims with data and link to your sources. This is critical for AI search visibility.

Research shows GPT-4 accuracy improves from 16% to 54% when content includes structured data. Giving AI clear, verifiable information directly impacts whether you get cited.

How Do I Actually Implement All 7 Elements?

I've built a free prompt that synthesizes everything into instructions you can paste into ChatGPT (or Claude as your SEO assistant).

The prompt works in two phases: first, research and structure where the AI recommends a blog post outline. Second, writing in Canvas where you edit and add your experience.

Do not just take the AI output and publish it. That's AI slop. You need to add your personal experience, edit it to sound like you, verify the data, add internal links, and generate supporting images.

Use Answer Socrates to find related questions people are asking, then include 3-4 as sub-sections in your post.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the answer capsule technique?

An answer capsule is a self-contained block of 40-60 words that directly answers a question without surrounding context. 72% of pages cited by ChatGPT have one. Full guide: The Capsule Content Method.

Does longer content rank better in AI search?

Not necessarily. Surfer SEO's research found AI prioritizes self-contained passages of 134-167 words. Concise, well-structured content outperforms longer posts that ramble.

How often should I update my content?

Every 60-90 days. Fresh content averages 6 AI citations compared to 3.6 for outdated pages.

Start Writing Content AI Can't Ignore

You also need to understand how to optimize your website for AI search and how to leverage AI-powered SEO workflows.

If you want hands-on help, inside the AI Ranking community, we share the exact prompts, templates, and strategies that are working right now. Members like William, Tim, Steven, and Sarah are proof that this framework delivers real results.

Join 470+ members at AI Ranking

72% of all content cited by AI search engines has one thing in common.

It's not backlinks. It's not domain authority. It's a simple way to structure your content that takes about five minutes to implement.

And this isn't just theory from some research paper. Our community members are getting real results with this. They're getting cited by Google AI Overviews in Ireland. They're seeing more impressions and clicks. One member even had ChatGPT recommend them as "the best option in America" for a mortgage - and they closed that client the next day.

So how the hell does this work?

Traffic Is Down. But That's Not Necessarily Bad News.

Let's be honest - traffic is down for everyone.

HubSpot was one of the most trafficked websites in the world. Their blog traffic dropped by 80% in 10 months. They went from 24.4 million organic visits in March 2023 to just 6.1 million by January 2025.

If that can happen to HubSpot, it can happen to anyone.

But here's the thing - this isn't necessarily a death sentence if you understand what's happening.

We've entered what I call the citation economy. Clicks aren't as valuable as they used to be, but citations are extremely valuable. If you're not cited by the AI search engines, you're essentially invisible.

And whilst overall traffic is down, the traffic you CAN get from AI search engines - if you understand this strategy - converts significantly better:

• Ahrefs found that AI search visitors convert 23 times better than traditional search visitors
• Semrush's research shows AI search visitors are 4.4x more valuable on average
• Seer Interactive's case study found ChatGPT traffic converted at 15.9% compared to Google organic at 1.76%

Less traffic, but way better quality. I can work with that.

Before We Go Further: You Still Need Valuable Content

I want to make one thing very clear before we get into the technique.

This strategy by itself isn't enough. You need good content along with it.

Google gives you very blase examples of what "good content" means. So let me give you some structured fundamentals:

What makes content valuable:

• Updated data - Original statistics, research, or synthesized information that's easier to understand
• Clear opinions backed by data - Don't just state facts, have a perspective
• Practical explanations - Show people how to actually do something
• Original workflows - Maybe you've built automations or found tools that help you work better
• Personal experience - Case studies, things you've learned throughout your career

That last one tends to work the best. Real experience is something AI can't easily replicate.

Once those fundamentals are done, we can move into the technique.

The Capsule Content Method

Fancy name, but very easy execution.

The technique can be encapsulated in three main things:

1. Write Short Answers (Around 150 Characters)

Under every heading that asks a question, write a brief answer - about 30-50 words or roughly 150 characters.

According to Search Engine Land's study of 8,000 AI citations, 72% of pages cited by ChatGPT had an answer capsule present. It's the single most consistent predictor of AI citation.

2. Zero Links in That First Answer

Keep that initial answer clean. No links, no references - just a direct, confident answer.

This makes it a lot easier for the AI to extract and cite that paragraph.

3. Answer First, Explain Later

Essentially, you want to answer the question right away, then provide more context and depth afterward.

Really, to make it simple, keep one question in mind when you're writing:

"Can someone understand this paragraph without reading anything else on the page?"

Is this paragraph encapsulated by itself? Can the AI just grab it and use it as a source?

Bad Example vs Good Example

Let's say you're writing a blog post about SEO and you have an H2 asking "What is Technical SEO?"

Bad Example (The Way Most People Write)

"In today's digital landscape, businesses are increasingly looking for ways to improve their online presence. SEO has evolved significantly over the years, and in this comprehensive guide we'll explore..."

Way too long. No direct answer. AI is going to skip right over this.

Good Example (The Capsule Method)

"Technical SEO is the process of optimizing your website's infrastructure so that search engines can crawl, index, and rank your pages effectively."

Done. That's the answer right there in the first sentence. Now you can elaborate with more detail below it.

Real-World Proof This Works

You've probably read content structured this way - you just didn't notice it.

When I Googled in AI mode "what is the best way to write content that will get cited by AI search engines?", the most cited source was this article from Semrush.

Looking at that content through the lens of the capsule content technique:

The first H2 asks: "What is AI search and why should I care?"

And right below that: "AI search engines use large language models to generate complex answers using trusted content from the web. Instead of showing a list of links like traditional search engines, AI search engines deliver a single synthesized response."

They answered that right away, then gave more information.

This makes it extremely easy for AI to cite that as a source.

The Statistics Back This Up

The research supports this approach:

• Content structure matters: Pages using 120-180 words between headings receive 70% more ChatGPT citations than pages with sections under 50 words
• Self-contained answers win: AI prioritizes passages that fully answer queries in 134-167 word self-contained units
• Question-based headings boost citations: Using question-format headings and FAQ sections significantly increases your chances of being cited
• Original insights matter: Content containing information not easily found elsewhere is the second-strongest differentiator for cited pages
• Fresh content gets more citations: Content updated in the past three months averages 6 citations versus 3.6 for outdated pages

How to Rewrite Your Existing Content (Without Taking Ages)

Here's the process I use:

Step 1: Use the Prompt

I've created a prompt that analyzes your content for "capsule readiness." You can use it with ChatGPT, Perplexity, or any LLM with internet access.

The prompt will:

• Give you a citation readiness score
• Analyze each section of your content
• Show you which headings should be reformatted as questions
• Provide suggested rewrites for your answer capsules

Step 2: Check the Criteria

The prompt will tell you things like:

• Does this content have answer capsules present?
• Are headings formatted as questions?
• Are there clear structured lists?
• Is there original data or insights?

Step 3: Rewrite Your H2s as Questions

This is where the magic happens.

Current H2: "Retirement Investment Vehicle Overview"

Suggested Rewrite: "What Are the Main Retirement Investment Vehicles?"

Simple change. Drastic positive consequences.

Step 4: Add the Answer Capsule

Current opening: "When it comes to stacking cash for those golden years, you've got solid options on the table."

Capsule rewrite: "IRAs, 401k plans, and annuities are the primary retirement investment vehicles that help you grow and protect your savings."

Gets right to the point. Now you can add the conversational tone and additional detail below it.

This isn't about changing your tone of voice or completely rewriting everything. Just keep that one question in mind: can this be understood and cited as a standalone answer?

Where to Start: Find Your Second-Page Content

If you've got a bunch of content on your website, you might be wondering where to begin.

Here's the strategy: find all the pages or blog posts ranking on the second page of Google.

How to Find These Pages:

1. Go to Google Search Console
2. Navigate to Performance
3. Make sure Average Position is selected
4. Filter to show pages ranking between positions 8-20

These are your golden opportunities. This content is already in Google's database - it's just not ranking well enough.

The reason I target second-page content:

• It's already indexed
• Google already sees it as relevant to the query
• A small improvement can push it to page one
• Page one content has a much higher chance of being cited by AI

According to research, 76.1% of URLs cited in AI Overviews also rank in the top 10 of Google search results. Get to page one first, then watch the AI citations follow.

Community Results

This stuff actually works. Our community members are seeing real results:

Tim Armstrong had a client closing a mortgage deal directly from a ChatGPT recommendation. The customer came in saying "ChatGPT told me you might be the best option in America for this." That wasn't even a click - it was GPT practically handing the client a lead because good on-site SEO was done.

Members in Ireland are getting cited in Google AI Overviews after implementing just a fraction of this strategy.

William Moon, a financial advisor in Arizona, went from nearly zero clicks despite ranking #1, to closing a $165,000 retirement planning client after optimizing his content structure. His CTR went from 0.3% to 2.3% - a 7x increase.

The Bottom Line

The citation economy is here. Traffic is down across the board, but the brands getting cited in AI Overviews are seeing 35% higher organic CTR and 91% higher paid CTR compared to non-cited brands.

The Capsule Content Method is straightforward:

1. Format your H2s as questions
2. Answer in the first 150 characters (30-50 words)
3. Keep that answer clean - no links
4. Then elaborate with more detail, examples, and context

It takes about five minutes to implement per section. The results can be dramatic.

Remember: This doesn't replace good SEO fundamentals. You still need valuable content, proper on-site optimization, and everything else that makes a website trustworthy.

GEO without SEO is like trying to swim butterfly without learning to swim first. Get the fundamentals right, then structure your content so AI can actually cite you.

Next Steps

Want to dive deeper into AI search optimization? Here are some resources:

• How to Do SEO for SearchGPT - A complete guide to optimizing for AI search engines
• SEO in the Age of AI: Why Your Clicks Are Disappearing - Understanding the shift to zero-click searches
• Turn Claude 4 Into Your Own Personal SEO Assistant - How to build AI-powered SEO workflows

And if you want more hands-on support with live Q&A calls where I can look at your website and give you specific advice, consider joining the AI Ranking Skool community.