Business owners who are seriously interested in online reputation management have long wondered just how to remove negative reviews online. It's not surprising that they'd be concerned about this, since customers are turning to online reviews with increased frequency to ascertain whether or not to make a purchase. In actuality, research has indicated that nearly all consumers assign exactly the same level of authenticity to an online review as they would to a recommendation by a friend. In essence, online reviews are the new word-of-mouth marketing.